Marriage of Convenience II
by AlienAgainstTheWorld
Summary: The rewrite of the original. Itachi never killed his clan and is still the heir. And when a contract pops out saying Hinata has to marry him... AU ItaHina, some SasuHina Discontinued. Up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

**Well. This is it.**

**Almost a year ago, I announced on the previous version of Marriage of Convenience that I was discontinuing the entire story and attempting to rewrite it. And for a year, I let it wallow. And then suddenly, inspiration struck.**

**This is the rewritten version of the old story. The beginning of the plot is mostly the same - Hinata is forced to marry Itachi because of a contract drawn up between the two families. However, if you go looking for any other similarities between the two, I'm afraid you'll be sorely mistaken. This Hianta is quite different from my previous Hinata. She's more agressive, and much, much darker. The same goes for the entire story in general, including all the main characters. If you've come here looking for humour or fluff, I'm afraid I must disappoint you. The theme this time is much darker, and there's going to be a lot of angst and reflection.**

**Another fact that I'd like to point out right now is that I've made some very obvious changes to the plot. Practically nothing except for the first chapter is going to be the same. When I said "rewrite", what I really meant was that the old story was being thrown into the dustbin, and a completely new one would come up in its place.**

**I repeat, _nothing _is going to be like what it was.  
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**If you still want to read on despite my warning, well then, thank you.**

**The first few chapters of this story have been written already. The update schedule will be slightly irregular for the next month - however, after that, it will be a chapter every week, regularly, I promise.**

**Any and all questions are very much appreciated, as are reviews. Thanks!**

**Standard disclaimer applies for the whole story.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 1<p>

It was so familiar to her now. The thump-thump of her footsteps, the shortness of breath. Her legs, hogging every bit of oxygen they could get as they strained with the effort. Her nerves screaming for rest. The running.

It seemed like she spent the majority of her life running, whether figuratively or literally. Whether training or during missions, her legs were always, always flying, always carrying her away from danger and the unknown. She was weak, easily beaten, and so she chose to flee rather than fight.

It was human instinct. Fight or flee. And she always, always chose the latter, even if by instinct.

She had tried to overcome this, truly, she had. She trained vociferously, allowing no one to interrupt her. She wanted to become stronger, to become someone worthy or being noticed, or being regarded. She wanted to be _strong._

And yet she would never get a chance.

* * *

><p>Her father was a strict man, to be sure, and disobedience meant severe punishment. This was why she had hastened to see him when he had summoned her, despite the fact that she had just returned from training and as a consequence was covered in dirt, filth, and dog pee.<p>

She felt good. She felt earthy, _real. _Her teammates, bless them, were often so overprotective that they did not really practice with her. Their spars were more often than not one-sided, half-hearted attempts. She knew as well as they did that she was incapable of beating them at their full strength, and yet, because they loved her, they let her fight them.

And they let her win. So that she wouldn't be disappointed.

Today was not one of those days. Today she had fought – really fought – with enough vigour to even make _Kiba_ shrink, and finally – _finally _– resort to something other than defensive tactics. She had lost after he went full-force, of course, but at least, she had not been beaten immediately. She had given him a fight to reckon for.

She had proved that she was a shinobi worth her salt.

It almost made her feel worthwhile.

And _that _was why she was nervous. After a very long time, Hyuuga Hinata had received a boost to her sagging self-confidence. She felt _proud._

And if anyone was adept at making her feel lowly, it was her father.

Her attire didn't help. The Hyuuga valued cleanliness and a pristine, elegant appearance. Their heiress was supposed to be the very representation of those values. The Elders would not be pleased with her current attire, even if it meant that she had been out working her fingers to the bone trying to meet their expectations. They were never satisfied.

Neither was her father.

She slid open the door that led to his room.

As expected, her father was not the lone occupant. The room was filled with at least fifteen elderly occupants, neatly divided along gender lines. Their cold, cold blank eyes stared at her as she meekly shuffled to the center and knelt in front of her father.

"What is with this disgraceful appearance?" snapped one of the old counselors, an ancient woman with white hair pulled back into a bun, beady lavender eyes and a particularly nasty expression on her aged face. Hinata recognized her as Hyuuga Kaede, a distant relative on her mother's side, and an avid supporter of Hanabi from the very beginning. The woman seemed to have t in for her every since she was a very young girl. "Your attire is entirely inappropriate for someone who wishes to lead the clan. Are you trying to disgrace the whole bloodline? Now Hanabi, she would never allow this to happen…"

"Peace, woman," muttered another man with an irritated expression on his face. "I am deaf enough already without having to listen to your voice grate on my ears."

"Enough," said Hyuuga Hiashi. Even though the command was said in a very low voice, all the hushed whispers amongst the assembly died down immediately. Their leader was not a man to be trifled with. "Hinata," he said, addressing his elder child. "Such behaviour is not acceptable from you. You know as well as I do that there are certain standards to be held to in the Hyuuga house, and I expect you to abide by them accordingly."

"O-of course, father," Hinata's voice broke in the middle, and she winced. Even though her father's voice was low, the reprimand that they bore was enough to sting. He was never a particularly generous person. "I apologize for the in-inadequacies of my attire. It's just that Neji-niisan told me that you w-wished my presence at once, and so I thought it of little c-consequence if…"

"Neji was quite right to do so," Hyuuga Hiash interrupted, clearly annoyed at her stuttering – and perhaps something beyond it. He pinched his nose, a clear sign that he was irritated. It was an unusual move for Hiashi, who preferred to keep his moods secret.

"The matter for which you have been brought here today is of the utmost importance, both to you and our family." His voice was slow, deliberate, as if he was choosing his words very carefully. "As you know, your seventeenth birthday has recently passed, so we have deemed that now is the appropriate time to tell you of this issue."

He picked up and old, aged scroll which had so far escaped her notice. She stared at it as much as she could without drawing the elders' ire. It looked as though it was weighed down with something heavy, and if the stains of multiple preservatives were any indicator, clearly great care had been taken to ensure that it stayed in pristine condition. Her father's mouth almost twisted as he held it up, and his eyes turned a shade darker.

"Do you see this scroll, Hinata? This is a contract that was drawn eleven years ago between two of the most important clans in Konoha," he explained. "The Third himself supervised the writing of this scroll, and the negotiations which had preceded it. The entire affair was conducted under utmost secrecy, for fear that enemy villages would get word and try to take advantage. This scroll has played a very important part in several important decisions made in Konoha. Surely, that should give you an indication as to how valuable it is."

Her eyes had widened considerably as her father had continued to recite the scroll's impressive history. It was almost unheard of for the Hokage himself to take part in clan negotiations, for both parties agreed that this was something intensely personal. For the Third to have thought it necessary, it was clear that the object in her father's hand contained something of vital importance.

It was clear that one of those "important clans" was that Hyuuga – but who was the other? And what part did she play in all this?

"The scroll was an agreement between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha…"

Well, at least that's one query answered, Hinata thought smugly, trying to overcome her shock at the answer. The two clans were notoriously antagonistic, and to hear that they had actually overcome their urge to commit mass genocide on the opposing party to sit down and haggle an agreement was news to her. She had not thought them capable of it.

"… and it was the first official accord we have made with the Uchiha since the dawn of time."

A bit of an over-exaggeration, thought Hinata, considering the fact that they didn't even know whether they had been around since the dawn of time. But it sounded impressive, and that was surely the intent. Hiashi wasn't a man who would let go of flairs when they presented themselves to him.

"This document was very enthusiastically supported by the Sandaime's former pupil, our present Hokage, Tsunade-sama. Its terms were thrown under slight doubt after the unfortunate and untimely death of the Third, but Tsunade-sama has pressed for this most zealously, and so the two clans agreed to uphold the document."

Clearing his throat slightly, Hiashi cast a glance at his fellow elders. If Hinata didn't know better, she would say that he was almost disconcerted with the way things were proceeding. But he was Hiashi Hyuuga, and he didn't get disconcerted.

She herself was trying to figure out the scroll's significance. It was not unusual for her father to summon her and make her recite and memorize many a long treaty and trade agreement. It was considered standard knowledge for any heir or heiress. But he had never done it with an audience. And so, the nagging feeling persisted.

_What does this have to do with me…?_

"However, times change, and with it, terms. With the blessing of Hokage-sama, we have been granted permission to… _alter _the terms a bit, if you will. I will now tell you the contents of the document."

The mood in the room sharpened, as though this was the moment the elders had been waiting for with bated breath.

Hiashi cleared his throat once again to proceed. "_Under the supervision of the renowed Third Hokage, Sarutobi-sama, this document has been brought to life. It details the union of the Hyuuga and the Uchiha clans, with the hope of discovering a kekkai genkai which utilizes the powers of both the Hyuuga Byakugan and the Uchiha Sharingan. This document, which is a culmination of the wishes of both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha clan heads, Hyuuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku, states that for the above to happen, a marriage of convenience must take place between Uchiha Itachi, heir to the Uchiha clan, and Hyuuga Hanabi, the younger daughter of the leader of the Hyuuga clan. The Council chooses the two individuals because if an heir wielding both the power of the Sharingan and the Byakugan is born, then he will lead the clan after Uchiha Itachi. If such an heir fails to make an appearance, and one with only the powers of the Sharingan is born, he will also lead the Uchiha clan after Uchiha itachi. However, if an heir with only the power of the Byakugan is born, then the leadership will be stripped of Uchiha Itachi and will pass on to his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke. This marriage of convenience will take place immediately after the coming of age of both the individuals concerned. Signed, Hiruzen Sarutobi." _

Shock. Horror. Fear. Anger. The emotions inside her were reaching a boiling point. Disbelief was predominant. How could they – how could they _do _something like this? How could they just decide a person's fate, map out their life for them without their consent, or even their knowledge? How could they have the audacity, the nerve to impose this upon Hanabi-chan…?

"Do you mean to say," the words choked, withered in her throat. Her rage was making it difficult for her not to shout. She did not even notice that her stutter had receded. "Do you mean to say that Hanabi-chan is to be married to Uchiha Itachi?" Even a deaf man could taste the incredulity in her tone. "The same Uchiha Itachi who happens to be a full ten years older to her, who is already a qualified ninja and an adult whereas Hanabi is only a child…!"

"Control youself Hinata!" Her father's voice was like a whiplash. "Remember your position and your worthlessness. You have no authority to reprimand the Elders, child! Remember your place!"

She startled, but looked down, bowed by the force of her father's will. Tears pooled into her eyes at the indignity and unfairness of it all. Hanabi was her sister, her imouto. How could she, Hinata, calmly stand by and listen to her sibling's life be destroyed just because some old, stinking elders wanted to experiment with the bloodline? It was unacceptable!

"In any case," Hiashi's voice was heavy as he continued. "I have no intention to marry Hanabi off. She is too young – who knows what kind of bright and illustrious future she has in front of her? She could even be the first Hyuuga Hokage." His eyes brightened a little as he contemplated the possibility. "The Hyuuga clan cannot afford to throw away such promising talent. No, Hanabi will surely wither away amongst the Uchiha."

His voice had acquired an edge now, and she could have sworn that the temperature of the room had plummeted at least ten degrees. She could not understand this. Wasn't Hanabi being safe a cause for celebration? And yet, apprehension gripped her mind, and only intensified with the next rush of words.

"As I mentioned before, some of the terms and conditions of this contract have been changed, with the permission of Hokage-sama, of course. We have decided that this marriage must take place, but Hanabi is to be exempted from the position of bride. She is too… _valuable _to the clan to be used like this. No, she would play a much better part as a shinobi. And so, as a result, we have selected someone else to take her place."

It was at that moment that she understood. The glances directed towards her, the stiff formality and slight regret in her father's tone – it could only add up to one thing. And yet, she remained frozen stiff, unwilling to believe the truth, that her family was cold enough to take these measures.

"The main reason for choosing Hanabi was because she was from the Main House. We could not really offer a _substandard _specimen to the Uchiha, could we? No, a Branch House member wouldn't do… and yet, the main House is limited. So few of us remain, and even fewer eligible for the job. Since we have decided that Hanabi should not be forced into this dreary existence, only one candidate really remains…"

She forced herself to look up, forced herself to see her father's eyes, to make him look at her tear-streaked face as her proclaimed the decision.

"… That girl is to be you, Hinata."

* * *

><p>Useless. She was nothing but useless.<p>

Sitting here, in front of her father and the elder's, she could not help but laugh a little inwardly. How hard had she tried, she wondered? How hard had she tried to be that "perfect" daughter, the perfect heiress? She had worked her fingers to the bone, disregarded her own mind, body, and self, just to achieve one objective. Just to be good enough in their eyes.

And she had failed.

Anger wasn't an emotion native to her She was far too naturally gentle for that, far too refined. But when anger crept up on her, then it was truly for a reason.

Her failure did not only signify her inability to meet up to her family's standards. It was a thumb in the face of so many people who had helped her encouraged her. Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, Shino, Tenten, Shikamaru, Neji-niisan, Naruto… the had also spent their time and energy cheering her up and boosting her morale, convincing her that she had it in her to rise to the top and show them all.

And now she had failed. She had failed without even being given a chance to exhibit her improvement, to prove to them all that she really had become better, had become worthy.

All around her, she could hear the elders talking to her. They were instructing her about the various formalities that would take place before she married the Uchiha heir, the various training programmes and preparation she would have to go through in order to fill the shoes of High Uchiha Lady. They spoke as though she wasn't in the room, as though they were addressing an inanimate object.

Suddenly, she was reminded of a line that her late Uncle Hizashi, Neji's father, had once said to her when she had inquired as to what the pretty green tattoo on his head was.

'_We're nothing but puppets bound to the ends of their strings, Hinata-chan.'_

She hadn't been able to understand it then, why he called them puppets. She had been to many puppet shows, and she quite decidedly knew that they weren't _puppets_. She hadn't been able to understand the hidden meaning in his words, the sad smile that had crept across his face at the knowledge of his predetermined fate.

But now she did.

She had perhaps never felt so helpless. Even when the elders had previously summoned her to insult her, to demean her, and to gleefully state that, order of birth notwithstanding, she would have to step aside in order to make way for her sister. She had never felt so helpless, because inside, some part of her had always insisted that she really wasn't as good as Hanabi, and wouldn't be able to lead her clan better.

But this… this was a whole new development.

Weak though she may be, she didn't deserve to be thrown aside so casually. She didn't mind if Hanabi replaced her – she had never really wanted the leader's position, anyway. But who were these fat old crows to decide who she would be married to? Who were they to decide that she would be sent off to live with some strange, hostile man with whom she had never exchanged a word in her life?

It was this thought that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"How dare you?" Her voice was trembling, but through sheer force of willpower, she prevented her stutter from coming back full force. "How dare you just stand there and proceed to take control of _my _life without so much as asking for my opinion? Have you no shame?"

It was against everything she had ever been taught, and she knew that she could be punished horribly for this little indiscretion. It was forbidden, and frowned upon, and she loved it.

She loved feeling that little thrill go through her, loved seeing the expressions on the elders rotten, _stinking _faces as they processed what she said, and loved seeing indignation and fury flare in their eyes. And before they could utter a word, she continued.

"You sit there, all proud and gloating, imposing our will on whomever you see fit. Don't you even _consider _the consequences of your actions? Don't you see that you're _ruining someone's __**life**__?"_

She shouted the last word, her voice breaking at the end. Tears were flowing freely down her face, making it hard to see, and she would definitely be rebuked by her father for it later, but for the moment, she didn't care. Let him do whatever he pleased to her – hadn't he already sold her off? Hadn't he already proved that she was nothing more than a worthless _object _to him, only fit for experimentation and whatnot?

The elders sat frozen in front of her. She knew them too well to think that they were truly regretting their decision. Most likely, they were just trying to process their shock at seeing their quiet, well-behaved, subservient little heiress let go of herself and all her deeply-ingrained training and insult them so. It would not last.

She stood up so suddenly that her head reeled. Her clothes were still covered in muck, she noticed distractedly, but she didn't care. _Let them get dirt on their perfect floor for once_, she thought viciously. She turned around to leave.

A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Hyuuga Kaede's vulpine face was suddenly right next to hers. "Insolent girl," her betel-stained breath fanned across Hinata's face, suffocating her. "How dare you speak like that to your superiors? You worthless, good-for-nothing brat…"

A sharp _snap. _A howl of pain. The sound of maids' feet as they hurried to find out what was wrong.

Hyuuga Kaede lay on the floor, letting out whimpers as she cradled her broken wrist. Hinata towered over her, her Byakugan activated, a fierce expression on her face.

"Now you listen to me, Kaede-_sama_," the honorific was spat out as if an insult. "I have tolerated more than enough of your jibes. Hold your tongue, unless you want me to tear it out."

And with that parting shot, she briskly left the room.

* * *

><p>Running, running. Still running.<p>

She was fleeing away from the Elders, away from the knowledge that they had so gleefully imparted upon her. How she wished that she could wind the clock back an hour, when she was blissfully unaware of what was brewing inside her own house.

She shouldn't have come back. She should have stayed put at the training ground, despite her father's summons. Or better yet, she should have run away.

But where would she run to?

The Council Room was in an uproar, as Hyuuga medics struggled to pacify and heal their bawling elder. The other members of the Council stared at each other in shock, and indignantly complained to Hiashi about his eldest daughter's lack of manners.

"Hiashi-sama, how could she just…!"

"Such kind of behaviour is unacceptable…"

"How are we ever going to present such a disgraceful specimen to the Uchiha…?"

The pandemonium was only rising, and try as he might, Hiashi Hyuuga could not summon up the necessary force required to subdue it. Perhaps he, too, was in shock over the abrupt change in attitude of his daughter.

Finally, he succeeded in making himself heard. "It means nothing, Imoko-sama, the girl will have to go through the proceedings nevertheless. We have succeeded in notifying her of what is expected…"

"I wonder if it really is the right course of action to take now," a soft, clear voice interrupted him.

Hiashi turned to face the speaker, and was for a moment surprised. Hyuuga Yamamoto was one of the oldest elders, and rarely deigned to speak in the meetings. In fact the last time when he had expressed his views had been when…

"Yamamoto-sama? But were you not the one to suggest that we replace Hanabi with Hinata in the first place?"

"And that was my statement at that point of time," the elder member replied evenly. "However, today's events have somewhat forced me to reconsider things. I now question the wisdom of disregarding Hinata as heiress."

"But she is so weak! How could you even consider…"

"The main problem that we have faced with Hinata was her timidity. Today, however, she seemed fairly assertive, did she not?"

The room was silent. No cries of dissent could be heard.

"Exactly. So, after going over the facts, this is what has come to my mind. I propose that…"

* * *

><p>This had to be a joke.<p>

They couldn't be summoning her again, could they? Not after what she had done last time…?

Or maybe this was just her father's way of humiliating her. She would be punished in full public view, in front of all the elders. Maybe he hoped to curb her wayward tongue. It certainly wouldn't be out of character for him. He was a strict man, who held old-world thoughts on discipline and respect. And she had violated both these doctrines today, and that too with a flourish.

She hadn't even noticed that she had zoned out until Neji stuck his (visibly worried) head in front of her face, with a questioning "Hinata-sama?"

She shook herself out of her reverie. "Ah, Neji-niisan!" She smiled brightly at him, hoping that his clever eyes wouldn't detect the false mask of cheerfulness that she had donned. "Thank you for coming to inform me personally. I'll be off to see the Elders now, eh?"

Neji smiled, but clearly, he wasn't convinced. She felt a cold wave of apprehension as she wondered exactly what her blank expression had given away to those all-seeing eyes. He seemed to be searching within her for an answer, his piercing eyes digging within her mind.

Her beloved cousin. Both of them had gone through so much, and now he was perhaps the one person she was closest to. She could confide whatever she wanted in him, for she knew that he would keep his lips sealed until and beyond the grave. And yet, she could not bring herself to tell him of this new development, this new obstruction that the elders had thrown her way.

But Neji was perceptive. Already, it seemed as though he was on the brink of figuratively delving into her mind and snatching out the chain of thought…

Therefore, it came as a relief to her when he nodded his head as an approximation of acceptance, and let her go.

She smiled in genuine feeling, touched at his concern, but that smile dropped the instant her back was turned. There could be nothing pleasant waiting for her at the Elders room, of that much she was certain.

* * *

><p>"You w-want me to – what?"<p>

Hyuuga Yamamoto sighed impatiently. He was not a patient man by nature, and his grand-niece's expression of terror and confusion wasn't doing anything to help his urge to scream at her. He tried to explain it all again calmly.

"Originally, the Elder council had decided that you, Hinata-san, would be stripped of your position, and immediately betrothed to Uchiha Itachi, and for you to marry him when you came of age. However, we have decided to reconsider our decision a little. You are still stripped of your position as heiress – that honour goes to your sister, Hanabi-san, now – but your future is not definite. We have given you one year's time to earn it back."

Hinata blinked, confused. "Eh?"

Yamamoto did his best to suppress the tick that had started to beat a tattoo on his forehead, but failed. He continued, slightly exasperated. "During this one years' time, you will be trained in all that is expected of you as High Lady of the Uchiha. You will attend your daily classes with an instructor personally recommended by the Hokage, who will assess your abilities and improve upon your etiquette. You will also meet – under strict supervision, of course, for we cannot risk a scandal – your betrothed, so that you become somewhat familiar, and thus do not waste time after your wedding in order to achieve the desired objective. Your engagement to Uchiha Itachi will also take place. You may also be prevailed upon to make certain public appearances with him, whenever the Council and the Uchiha council sees fit. However, there is still a year to go before you can legally be wed to Uchiha Itachi. You may also utilize this year to train and improve yourself, although you will not be allowed to miss any classes and any other responsibilities that the Council of Elders places upon your shoulders. At the onset of your eighteenth birthday, you will be given another chance to prove yourself, and must fight against the current sitting Heiress, that is, Hanabi-san, to prove yourself. If you win, then your father will immediately retire and bestow upon you this position, and you will be the leader of the Hyuuga. However, if you lose… you will follow the Elders will and marry Uchiha Itachi without any complaint or disturbance. That is our will."

She stared at the elders, who were noticeably missing one member – Kaede-sama must still be recuperating from the impromptu attack. Could it be… that they had deigned to give her another chance at life?

Suddenly, a horrible sneaking suspicion snuck into her mind. "And what if I win?" She demanded testily. "Who is to marry the Uchiha heir then? Are you going to throw Hanabi to the dogs again?" Her fear for her sister was paramount.

She saw the elders share an uneasy glance amongst themselves, but before she could be convinced of her suspicions, her father spoke. "Guard your tongue, Hinata." His voice was stern, and she was sure that he would not tolerate any outbursts like last time again. "It does not befit the daughter of the Leader of a Great House to speak with such impertinence."

Then he sighed, and raised a hand to mop his forehead. She suddenly noticed the beginning of grey hairs among his ebony strands. "However, I will answer your question. Your sister shall not be forced to marry Uchiha Itachi in the event that you best her, unlikely as that may be. She is an excellent shinobi, a prodigy, even, and I will not see her waste away as a common housewife in the Uchiha Compound. We will choose another to marry the Uchiha boy… a Branch House member, perhaps."

The relief that she felt was tinged with guilt. Yes, her sister was exempt from this forced marriage, but someone else's sister would be forced to take her place. And if Hinata herself was not successful, then _she _would be the one being married off to a complete stranger.

The thought frightened her. Married, and to an Uchiha, even! She had been taught from birth not to associate with them, or to become overly friendly – the two clans were rivals, and their children must be so, too. Hiashi had even encouraged her to beat her Uchiha classmate at school, but he had been touted as a genius, and though her grades were more than acceptable, she could never match him. This had always been a source of disappointment to her father, that his daughter could not beat his rival's offspring.

And now she would be betrothed to one of them, would be made to marry him, to _produce a child _with him, as though she was nothing more than a brood mare…

It was the last thought that scared her the most, for that was one boundary which she had let only one man cross before, and that too after great deliberation.

"Listen to me Hinata, and listen well," her father's voice was gravelly and hollow, as though he was echoing the power of the leaders who had come before him. His face was stern and heavy as always, but his eyes held a semblance of something almost… fatherly in them. "We have been generous with you. This is your last chance to prove yourself. Do not waste it!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everybody.**

**First of all, I want to apologise for the massive delay in uploading. To skip all excuses and cut it short, I kind of... forgot about fanfiction for a while.  
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**A lot of people have asked me whether this story is an AU. I just want to take a moment here to confirm that. In this story, the Uchiha massacre never took place, and, as a consequence, Sasuke is a perfectly normal guy who never wanted to be an avenging angel. However, he _does _have some issues related to his brother... Which will be revealed as the story progresses.  
><strong>

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

A kunai flew past her cheek, and she dove to dodge it.

Hyuuga Hinata cursed herself for getting distracted. She was in the middle of training with her teammates, and after finally being treated as an equal yesterday, she didn't want them to start mollyocoddling her again today. If she kept up her less-than-stellar act, however, she was afraid that her teammates might actually give up on the exercise altogether and start humouring her again.

And that would never do. Especially not when she was supposed to be getting stronger in order to beat Hanabi

She managed to dodge another kunai just in time, cursing her wayward thoughts. It wasn't like she didn't want to focus, it was just that she…

Couldn't. Not with this _commotion _going on in her house.

The news of her having broken an elder's wrist had spread like wildfire, and must have even reached Neji's ears by now. She was sure that her cousin would confront her when she reached back home, and didn't know what she would say to him. Surely, the truth about her impending engagement would reach him soon enough, but she could not bring herself to tell him about it herself, although usually he was her confidant. Perhaps it was because she was afraid that by repeating the fact, it might become more real.

She had risen early today, and snuck out of her house to arrive at the training grounds. There, she had spent several hours completely decimating a training post, and would have continued to do so if her teammates hadn't arrived and put an end to it. They were perceptive, both of them, and even though they knew that something was wrong, the had respected her privacy. She would tell them when the time came, they were sure of it.

And so they had begun to train. Only, she was doing a miserable job at it

Her mind kept on flickering back to the conversation that she and the elders had had yesterday. She still found it hard to believe that it had taken place at all, and if her cheeks were not swollen due to her incessant crying throughout the night, she might have dismissed it as a bad nightmare. As it was, she was altogether far too aware of it.

She blinked as Shino suddenly appeared in front of her. The reserved nin looked concerned as he put his hands on Hinata's shoulders.

"Hinata, is everything alright?"

There was a blur as Kiba appeared next to him, Akamaru on his shoulders. Shino's compassionate and concerned expression was mirrored on his canine features. "Yeah, did somethin' happen at home or something? 'Cause we can totally kick some Hyuuga ass for you, ya know."

"Kiba…!" Shino's tone was reprimanding, but her teammates' comment had made her laugh. She looked at them with fond eyes. Her brothers in all but blood, who had stood by her through thick and thin, who had always encouraged her and protected her, who had always, always strived to help her achieve her goal, and still did. She was so grateful to them.

And it was because of this that she couldn't tell them. Not now, at least. She knew that they had always felt helpless where she was concerned, because, although both were from prominent clans, neither was high up enough on Konoha's hierarchy to match up to the Hyuugas. Consequently, they were unable to react whenever Hiashi made another cutting, insulting decision or remark. And it bit them.

If they knew what her family planned to put her through this time, they might do something… drastic.

And she couldn't let them. They were her brothers, and it was her duty to protect them.

That's why she shook her head, saying "It's nothing, Kiba, Shino. I'm just a little distracted today. I'll be fine in a while."

Kiba seemed convinced, but behind those dark glasses, Shino's eyes bore into her own with frightening intensity. He knew that she wasn't being honest, and for a moment, she was afraid that he would state that fact and bring about another round of questions from Kiba.

But he didn't. He merely patted her head, and told her to go rest for a while.

Silent Shino. She knew he was concerned, but he'd never force her to divulge something she didn't want to. She'd love him forever for it.

She walked through Konoha's streets in a daze. Shino had told her to go home, but she couldn't bring herself to take those few steps towards her house. There were too many people there. Who knew, or would know by the end of the day, what exactly had transpired between their (ex) heiress and the elders yesterday afternoon. She didn't want to see their knowing looks, or hear the hushed whispers behind her back.

It made her feel… unwanted.

Unkowingly, her feet had led her to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. Even when she was lost in her own world, Naruto's influence on her was too strong to deny. She let a small, wan smile cross her face as she sat down on the stool outside the stand and ordered a bowl of pork ramen.

Naruto-kun… he was so lucky. He had everything which she wished she would have – a family (even if it was makeshift, they still loved him), acceptance, a desire to succeed, self-confidence, and most of all, free will. Naruto was a free man – he didn't have to bow to anyone's will but his own. She, on the other hand, had the elders hovering over her every day.

Suffocating her.

She hadn't even noticed that she had broken her chopsticks until the person who had just slid next to her pointed it out.

She took stock of it with warm cheeks, and, quickly placing these down, grabbed another pair. She turned her head to glance at her companion, and gasped.

"I-Ino-san!"

* * *

><p>Yamanaka Ino. The most beautiful of the rookie nine, although she only had to compete with Haruno Sakura and Hinata herself. She had been voted "Most Desirable Kuniochi" three times in a row by <em>Shinobi Today! <em>Magazine, and fantasized about many thousand times more than that. Her name was known to everyone in the village, whether their intention be lust (the men) or jealousy (the women).

Hinata personally didn't know her very well, although she was good friends with one of Ino's teammates, and they themselves had been classmates in the Academy. Ino had always been too popular to ever really notice shy, timid Hinata, and although the latter admired her self-confidence, she could not bring herself to ever really express any sign of this admiration to the person in question herself. As a result, the acquaintance between the two was perfunctory at best. They had never really conversed.

Today, however, Ino seemed unusually talkative… although perhaps this was how she was usually. She smiled at Hinata, a big grin that showcased all her perfect white teeth. "Hinata-chan!" Her voice was an alluring squeal. "Why, it's been forever since I've seen you!"

The two girls chatted amicably for a while, exchanging local gossip. Hinata wasn't really a particularly talented person at amassing information upon her compatriots, but it turned out the Ino had been on a mission for the last month, and thus she was satisfied with the updates which Hinata gave her. The two girls found themselves laughing companionably like they never had before – neither had they found any occasion to. When they finally finished, Hinata's stomach was full, and she was lit up with a satisfied glow.

It faded the moment she realized that she was going to have to go back home now.

Mournfully, she bid Ino goodbye, hugging the blonde shinobi as she made her way home. Her steps dragged as she tried to find any other way to believably delay her inevitable return, and she began to panic as her mind constantly came up with blanks. Her frenzied thoughts even suggested injuring herself so that she could calmly sprint to the hospital and spend another blessed half-hour there – but, remembering her father's ultimatum, she knew that there was nothing to do but to go home.

It was afternoon, and her Hokage-appointed etiquette tutor would arrive soon. Hinata had been instructed to be punctual to every one of these meetings, and if she was not, well, then… Her father's silence had been poignant, but the meaning was quite clear. Even this little respite, this tine window of opportunity would be slammed shut, and she would find herself staring at a premade future with nothing but an altar and a shad0w-shrouded groom at the end.

It was a wonder how little she knew of Uchiha Itachi, really. She had heard of his impressive track record – how he had graduated from the academy at the tender age of seven, and was already an ANBU captain by the age of thirteen. He was a genius, there was no doubt about it. Her father had expressed hopes for her to turn out similarly, but she had not, instead remaining a perfectly normal little girl. His disappointment had been palpable. He had grown up in an environment steeped with animosity toward the Uchiha, much as she had, and as a result, hoped to outperform them at every turn. It was a mark of deep shame to him that his rival's firstborn should be more talented than his own.

Besides his impressive record, Hinata knew little about the man. She was aware of his popularity amongst her fellow female shinobi, and also of the fact that he had a rather determined fanclub. She knew that he had a younger brother who had been in her class, and who was also exceptionally talented, although perhaps not as much as his genius of a brother. She knew what he looked like – which Konohan citizen did not? And she had to admit that he was fairly attractive, with long, lustrous dark hair and finely-shaped features that were placed in perfect symmetry with one another.

But he was a stranger to her. They may have been from the same social strata, but she had never exchanged so much as a word with him. She may have unknowingly greeted him at some social function perhaps, or maybe asked him to pass a glass of water or a certain platter of food, but she was not acquainted with him.

And now she was to be betrothed to him.

More than betrothal, it was another clause that her father had stipulated yesterday that bothered her. He had said that there would be heavily-supervised meetings between the two, so that the two families could hurry up the acquaintance and get to the producing-the-next-generation part.

Hinata's face flamed as she thought about it. Even now, at the age of seventeen, she was still fairly unexperienced. If one talked in absolute truths, then she had had a lover, just the one. And she could not be called a virgin by any noble family's standards. But he had been more of a friend than anything more, and the incident between the two of them had come about as a desire to experience new things on her part. They had both explored the idea of a relationship, but then mutually decided that it would be nothing but detrimental to their already strong friendship. Even now, Hinata cherished him and his friendship.

As of love… well, there was little enough of it in arranged marriages, that she knew very well. Her own parents had married according to the elder's wishes, and, contrary to all expectations, had fallen in love. But it was a rare case. Most arranged-marriage couples stayed oddly formal with each other, even after decades of shared companionship.

She wasn't a fool, of course. She had always known that she would have no freedom in her choice of bridegroom. Her future was set in stone – was set from the moment of her birth. She had briefly entertained the idea of love with Naruto-kun… but even those fantasies were wiped out soon enough from her mind.

She was a tool, and nothing more.

And it was best if she accepted it soon.

* * *

><p>Back at home, the house was oddly silent. Hinata wandered around aimlessly for a while, unaware as to where to go. The Hyuuga compound was enormous, and her instructor could be arriving anywhere. To manually check every room would take hours.<p>

She frantically racked her mind for any indication, any sentence that her father had let slip yesterday about where she would be receiving her instruction, but came up with nothing but a blank.

This was bad. Hyuuga Hiashi was meticulous about instructions. There was no possibility, none at all, that he had forgotten to tell her. So there could be only two alternatives – one, that she had forgotten his instructions, or two, that –

"There you are, nee-san."

She turned. A thin girl stood behind her. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her left hand was bandaged, no doubt from training so much. She was licking at a cone filled with pink ice-cream, and the frosting had already coated her mouth.

Like a child. She was just like a little child.

"I've been looking for you forever," Hanabi complained. "'Tou-san told me to go and fetch you to the west sun-viewing room _ages _ago. He says there's someone waiting for you there."

Hinata panicked. There was no other word for it. The idea that she had already managed to break her father's rules, on day one itself…!

"Nobody tells me what's going on around her anymore," the pre-teen complained. "It's all just 'do this' and 'do that' and 'you're not old enough to understand the situation, Hanabi-chan'." She directed an accusing glare upon her sister as she uttered the last statement.

Hinata, however, was too a-flutter to pay adequate attention to her sister's grumbles. "Gomen, Hanabi-chan," she gasped. "But I really have to go. I'm already late!"

And with that, she sped off, leaving a very confused sister behind.

* * *

><p>The west sun-viewing room was empty.<p>

There was a plate of confectionaries placed on the centre of the table, and a particular mat showed signs of being sat upon, but her instructor was nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, she walked in and sat down with the correct posture upon one of the cushions provided for such a purpose.

It was evening, and sunset was taking place. The sun-viewing room was built exactly so that the members of the Hyuuga clan would be able to see the object that played a part in their very names.

She was mesmerized by the sight. The sky was hued in deep, vibrant shades of orange, pink, and red, and the clouds reflected it. It was really… amazing…

"Boo!"

She screamed and jumped – must have jumped – at least a foot. Turning around, she was confronted with a very familiar visage.

"J-Jiraiya-sama!"

The perverted sannin leaned back and looked at his young charge. he had his trademark grin on his face, and for a moment, she could not help but feel relaxed. She couldn't help it – the sannin had a particular aura about him that practically ordered you to calm down in his presence.

But what was he doing in her house…?

"I'm r-really sorry, Jiraiya-sama," she apologized quickly, bending down until her forehead touched the floor. "I was unaware of your presence. Please forgive my impertinence…"

"Rule number 1 for a young lady aspiring to be a Great Clan leader's wife," Jiraiya interrupted. "Always boss people around. No undue apologies. And never, never bow your head that low. A little inclination is more than enough."

She sat up and blinked at him. He had on his face a slightly more serious expression now, although she doubted whether he could ever actually be called serious. Her eyes were huge and round as she stared into his face, and she was clearly intimidated.

His eyes suddenly crinkled into a smile. "C'mon, Hinata-chan! You can't tell me that those stuffy old Hyuuga bags didn't drill this particular fact into you when you were a lil' kid…!"

She blinked again, just beginning to understand the situation. She was waiting here for her etiquette tutor, who had been appointed by Tsunade-sama. Jiraiya-sama was waiting here for her. Jiraiya-sama knew Tsunade-sama. Jiriya-sama had just referred to her impending situation. Ergo…

"You're my etiquette tutor?" she gaped.

"That he is," came an immediate reply from across the room. "Also, you should never leave yourself as open as you did right now, Hinata-chan."

Her head snapped across the room to see Shizune leaning against the wall, her arms folded across her chest. Seeing Hinata's astonished stare, she relented and smiled a little. "A noble's wife never knows when an assassination attempt might take place. Although guards are usually placed along with her, it never hurts to be on your guard, right?"

"Sh-Shizune-san," Hinata stuttered, feeling her world swimming around her. "Y-you…"

"Tsunade-sama wanted someone who was adept at such things to help teach you of what was required," explained Shizune as she briskly walked across the room to sit across Hinata. "Hiashi-san was quite enraged – it seemed that he thought that the Hyuuga instructors were quite enough – but, well, Tsunade-sama thought differently."

"It's because they're a bunch of pretentious windbags," Jiraiya cut in bluntly. "They'll go 'ooooh!' and 'aaaah!' and never teach you anything of value. They're far too conservative for this situation. You aren't here for some competition in Miss Modesty, you're here with a mission."

"As Jiraiya-sama says," Shizune's expression was rather severe as she glared at Jiraiya. Hinata already looked far too intimidated for it to be good. "Your situation has certain special… requirements. And we're here to help you with that."

"It's a blessing, really, that you're as high-ranked as you are," Jiraiya drawled. "We won't have to do much for you. You already know how formal ceremonies are to be conducted, and over the difference in procedures in weddings, child-naming ceremonies, or other gatherings. However, there's a crucial difference – so far, you've been trained to be the star of the show. You've been the heiress, Hinata-chan, and trained to act accordingly. You must be forward, to must make it obvious that you are present at whatever function you decide to attend."

"A leader's wife has quite a different role," Shizune supplemented mildly. "She doesn't have to carry the family mantle and breastplate on her shoulders, but her role is just as vital. When all the leaders will be staring at your husband, Hinata-chan, it's _your _job to provide him with the support he needs. It's your job to ensure that every possible ite that he might need is within easy reach of him. And it's your responsibility to ensure that your adopted family's name is not sullied in any way."

"The men of the function may be staring at your husband. But their wives' attention will be on you. They will want to see the true elegance of the Uchiha matriarch, and whether she is good enough to be part of them."

"Once you are married to Itachi, you will no longer be a Hyuuga. You will also be an Uchiha, even if you lack their trademark eyes. And do not think that your wedding will be some small affair. A union of the Uchiha and Hyuuga… something like this has never taken place before. You must understand that delegates and dignitaries from foreign lands will be eager to see this unusual couple."

"You'll not only be representing your own family, you'll also be representing your husbands'. Your shoulders will bear a double burden. That is why it is so important that you know everything that there is to know before being confronted with such a situation. You must not be too forward, or too direct – that is your husband's job. Outwardly, he is the only representative of your clan. But you also play a vitally important role. You must be subtle, but you must be firm. You must lead in the shadows, Hinata-chan."

Hinata gaped at the two serious shinobi, feeling dread sink its fangs deep into her heart with every passing word. All this… how could they possibly expect her to do it! She nearly made a mockery out of her own clan at every function she attended, how could they task her with the Uchihas, too?

Her alarm must have shown quite prominently on her face, because suddenly, both shinobi relaxed. Shizune put an arm around Hinata's waist, and Jiraiya a fatherly hand upon her shoulder. When they smiled, their faces were full of understanding an encouragement.

"We know it seems like it's impossible, Hinata-chan. But don't worry – we're here for you."

* * *

><p>He stared blankly at the face of his father as he finished his monologue.<p>

"… You _do_ understand, don't you, Itachi…?"

He bowed his head. Suddenly, a vision flashed through his mind – delivering a powerful flying kick to his father's face, and then running out, running away, far away from Konoha, where people didn't always expect things from him…

He stopped the vision before it could proceed too far. It was too tempting to dwell upon for too long.

"Hn."

His father sighed. "You sound like Sasuke," he said unexpectedly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Or perhaps Sasuke sounds like you. Kami knows that the boy always tried to imitate you…"

He bit the inside of his cheek, feeling suddenly irritated. It was just like his father to find some way or the other to demean Sasuke, even if he was doing it unknowingly, and the person in question wasn't in earshot at the moment.

It didn't matter. Itachi heard.

He heard everything.

"… It's a pity he couldn't be as good as you are." His father's musings were beginning to get on his nerves, but he was good at concealing his feelings. He had been doing so for the past eighteen years. "But nobody could, could they?" At this, Fugaku Uchiha looked at his son with something akin to pride in his eyes.

His son stared back blankly.

"Anyway," The elder Uchiha was irritated now. "I suppose you can see how this will lead to the greater good. I hope that you will heed my instruction, Itachi, and do everything you can to help speed it along.

Then, Itachi spoke the first words he had since his father had dragged him into his room and changed his life forever.

"When was this contract made?"

Fugaku Uchiha opened an eye and stared at his son warily. Itachi's face was completely impassive – there was not even a single indicator of what was going on in his mind. He had trained his son well.

_Almost too well._

"When you were eleven," he said wearily. He had long given up on trying to decipher his son's moods, and come to the fact that his own offspring had unusual thought patterns. Itachi's mask was too good to look through. "You intended fiancee was born then, and Hokage-sama thought it appropriate that we finalize it that very year."

"So," Itachi's voice was calm, but there was a storm brewing underneath. A storm that could not be detected by more than a couple of people, and that list didn't include his father. "You're saying that I have been engaged for the past _twelve years _to some _child _whom I don't know?!"

His voice had risen towards the end. Bad boy, Itachi. You were supposed to play this off calmly.

Fugaku supposed his rage was justified. That didn't mean he had to like it. Nevertheless, he did not reprimand his son. "The girl's name is Hyuuga Hanabi," he sighed impatiently. "She's twelve years old, and has just graduated from the Academy. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't have to worry about anything until she was of age, which would be six years later. However, the terms have changed."

There. If one looked closely, they might have seen a vein jump in Itachi Uchiha's forehead. Fugaku didn't. "Changed, you say?"

"Yes, changed. Those damn Hyuuga – they can't do anything right. Ask them to strict by one contract, and they'll find any loophole to wriggle out of it. Damn weasels."

He waited patiently. It would do no good to lose his temper, he knew that much.

"In this case, they were supposed to send their younger daughter, Hyuuga Hanabi, to fulfill their part of the deal." His father continued. "But now suddenly they want the terms to be changed. Instead of the younger one, they're sending over their elder girl. Hibata or Himaka or something, I think."

There it was again. That almost imperceptible jump in his forehead.

"The engagement ceremony will take place this year itself," Fugaku continued. "And the wedding will take place next year, after the girl turns eighteen. Until then, you'll continue to meet her at specified intervals of which the timings will be given to you by the elders. They want to build up an _acquaintance_, you see, so that the two of you won't spend much time getting to know each other, and rather get to the business at hand."

Ah, yes. The business at hand. The main reason why this whole fiasco was unfurling in the first place.

The Hokage probably wanted them breeding like rabbits, the greedy bitch.

His father hesitated for just a second, and looked back at his son almost regretfully. "It's a wonderful opportunity," he told him uncertainly. "We want to see the possibilities. And you are the strongest of our clan. It is your obligation, really…"

Obligation. Responsibility. Duty.

Damn it all to hell.

"Does mother know?"

There. That question. That one, all-important question.

"Doesn't matter if she does, does it?" came the short reply. "She'll know of it soon enough."

The pause that ensued was pregnant with something unknown and heavy.

"Sasuke?"

"… No. He'll be made aware of the fact after he returns from his current mission."

"If she turns of age a year later, then that means… that means that she must be Sasuke's age?"

His father turned to him sharply. "What are you trying to say, Itachi?"

The son dutifully leaned forward, hiding his face behind his long bangs. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to calm himself. "Did she go to the Academy with him?"

"I don't know, dammit! What do you _want _from me?!"

Fugaku had stood up, upsetting the little table that was in between the two of them. Itachi raised his face to look at his father.

Fugaku shivered inadvertently, then hated himself for doing so.

"I don't know if she even went to the Academy," he replied evenly. "But if she did, then what difference does it make? She's a Hyuuga – Sasuke knows better than to associate with that bunch."

Here, he took a step forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Looking into his eyes – eyes so like his own – he said:

"It's an experiment, Itachi. And you're one of the crucial parts. Think of this as an… as an assignment. A mission. It doesn't mean any more than that."

And that was when Itachi's Sharingan flared.

"Just because you treat mother like another one of your missions doesn't mean that she deserves to go through this fate."

A slap.

The door opened, and Uchiha Fugaku left, seething with anger.

Itachi remained behind, his head bowed, a red imprint on his cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Care to explain what you mean…"

Red eyes. The Sharingan spun madly.

"…by that statement…"

A random passerby let out an 'eep!' and rapidly scurried backwards.

"…eh, Shisui?"

His companion laughed in a slightly mocking manner, eyes still black, but daring him to cross that ledge. A smirk was pasted on his face, and there was a decidedly catty twang to his voice as he repeated his words.

"Why, Sasuke, who would have thought that you've gone deaf! You really should seek someone medical help, you know – I hear that Haruno girl is quite excellent –" here, his lips stretched into a knowing grin as he cocked his head " – and that she wouldn't be particularly averse to helping you, either. It's a boon from heaven!"

A smash. There was now a hole in the paper wall.

Shisui's grin, if possible, grew even wider. "Now, now, Sasuke, it wouldn't do to have a little temper tantrum, would it? _Daddy _wouldn't appreciate his wittle baby son demolishing his house now. Behave."

He sounded like a slightly nasty uncle gleefully patronizing his nephew. Sasuke hated him.

"Spit out what you have to say. Or leave." The words were blunt, firm. There was an undertone of pain.

He really should have gone to a medic. He was fairly sure that he had at least one bruised rib. But then again, pride came before everything else, didn't it?

Shisui's mocking smile slipped somewhat as he realized his prey was serious. He sighed dramatically. "Oh, very well." His lips pursed as he cocked his head. "I suppose dear little Sasuke must be told of the fact yet again. Your big bro's getting married, kiddo. I'm surprised you didn't know about it. Maybe they just didn't think you could _handle _it, did they?"

And with that final parting shot, Shisui disappeared in a swirl of pale green leaves.

* * *

><p>"… Ne, where do you think Hinata-chan is?"<p>

"I don't know, Kiba."

Silence. It almost crushed them.

"… Ya know that she's hidin' somethin' from us, don't you?"

"I think that is patently obvious."

Another moment of silence. Then, with a tinge of irritation:

"You gonna ask her about it?"

Shino slowly turned towards his teammate, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses.

"I believe that Hinata will tell us herself, when the time is right."

And with that, he turned back to stare at the road that led to the training grounds.

* * *

><p>"Is it true?"<p>

The sound of a ladle scrapping against the bottom of the utensil. Then, shuffling. Slippers muffled the sound of feet upon tiles.

"What is, Sasuke-kun?"

A sigh. He knows they're hiding it from it.

"Shisui said that Itachi's getting married. Is it true?"

Mikoto's voice is light as she replies. Too light. She's a carefree woman usually, but today is different.

Today, the lightness is forced.

"I do remember your father telling me something about it, you know. I think we were all just sitting around this table when he mentioned that Itachi might get married next year…"

A smash. He's pounding his fist against the table.

"He doesn't have anyone he loves, dammit! Are you really going to let them do this to him, kaa-san?"

The silence is awkward. Then, the sound of someone vigorously scrubbing the kitchen sink with a hard-bristled brush.

"It's not my decision, Sasuke. And besides, all of us have certain duties to fulfill. Look at your father and I, for example. We, too, only wed because of customs, but look at how happy we are…"

Her voice trailed off. Sasuke got up and opened the door.

A last parting shot.

"You're pathetic, kaa-san."

And then he left.

* * *

><p>"What's going on with Hinata-sama?"<p>

The voice is male. The tone is hushed, confidential. The location is secluded. The perfect place for an ambush.

Hanabi clicks her tongue, giving her brother credit for his choice. _Genius indeed_, she muses. But she has no answer for him.

"If I knew, do you think I'd be standing around here doing nothing? Give me some credit, niisan."

Neji's brow furrowed. To anyone who knew him, that was a lot. He was generally impassive, and firmly believed in hiding all his feelings behind a carefully constructed mask.

Because he was a genius. And geniuses weren't allowed to fail.

"There's obviously something wrong –"

"Yeah, guess what, shithead? I'd already figured that part out."

He ignored Hanabi. "I'm willing to presume that it has something to do with that meeting she attended a week ago, the one where Kaede-sama was injured."

"Do you think I'm a toddler? I had all this figured out way before you did, _niisan_."

The term was mocking, the way it rolled off her lips. Intentionally, of course.

Mocking, but not humiliating. He was precious to her. To them both. They couldn't afford to lose him.

He was their brother, after all.

"The problem remains that there could be a number of reasons as to why Hinata-sama is… upset. We can't really narrow them down."

"Yeah, well, there's that…"

"Hanabi-sama?"

"'Tou-san told me to stay away from sister. Apparently, if I'm seen in her company, I will be punished severely. Also, he has some sort of a _surprise _for me, to be unveiled next week."

"… Could Hinata-sama be upset because of that? It's not completely impossible, is it?"

"Yeah, you bet. Nee-chan's been avoiding me like hell for the past week, too."

"Me too."

Silence.

"Well, there's only thing to be done about it, ya know."

Again, a momentary silence. And then, suddenly –

"Slug!"

"Snake!"

A momentary silence. And then, a whoop of joy.

"HaHA, niisan, told you I'd win! Now you go and ask Hinata-neechan what's wrong with her."

"… I hate playing this game with you, Hanabi."

"You're just saying that 'cause I always win, aren't ya?"

"Mmph"

* * *

><p>"I guess its true then…?"<p>

"What is?"

"Didn't you hear? I have a friend over at the Uchiha sector who told me. Uchiha Itachi's getting married to that pasty-faced Hyuuga girl."

"Which one? Are you serious? Oh my god, that's _huge_."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Can't believe Itachi-sama's not available any more. He got engaged so fast! I've never even _seen _him with a girl, much less _her_."

"What's her name, anyway?"

"Oh, you know her. That shy one, who stutters? The one who looks as though she couldn't knock down a leaf? Yeah, that one."

"Hinata?"

"Is that her name? I don't know."

"Yeah. She's the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, isn't she?"

"Wow, that's pretty powerful. Reckon it's a love marriage?"

"With the Hyuuga involved? You're shitting me. It's a deal, pure and simple."

"Hmmm. Poor Itachi-sama, stuck with something like this."

"I guess. Although, now that you mention it, I feel worse for the girl."

"What for? She's getting _the _Uchiha Itachi as her husband."

"She'll have to deal with the fanclub, no?"

"Oh, right…"

A chuckle.

"… that'll be entertaining, now."

* * *

><p>"You're a coward."<p>

He was tying his shoelace. He finished tying it and then looked up calmly.

"Otouto. Welcome home."

Sasuke spat on the ground.

Itachi eyed the filth mildly before turning back to face his brother. "I trust that you had a successful mission?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Two bruised ribs and a sprained wrist. And the target almost got away."

Itachi shrugged. "You have to take it as it comes, Sasuke."

"Pah!" Sasuke's rage was palpable. He was angry. "Stop changing the subject, dammit!"

"What _was_ the subject in the first place?"

"You… your cowardice, you fucking coward!"

Silence. Then:

"Who told you?"

Sasuke glared at his brother, then relented. "Shisui."

"And you believed him?"

"'Kaa-san verified his story."

Itachi leaned back, allowing a small sigh to escape him. He closed his eyes.

"She's your age, you know? Probably went to the Academy with you, if she went at all."

Silence. Then a suspicious rustle. "What's her name?"

"Hyuuga Hibata, I think."

"_Hyuuga?!"_

"Don't ask me. Father and the Hokage have come up with some odd plan. Something to do with experimentation. They're planning on mixing the bloodlines."

"An _experiment_? So what does that make you, a test subject?"

He opened his eyes and stared at his brother's face for a full minute before closing the lids once again.

"Bloody hell! How can you _tolerate _this?"

And that's when he finally cracked a smile. It wasn't happy – rather, it was sad, if anything.

"Because someone has to."

* * *

><p>"Hinata-sama."<p>

She looked back, surprised. "Neji-nii!" Her breath escaped in a whoosh.

Her room was a mess. Piles upon piles of clothes were strewn all across the floor. Formal, semiformal, informal, housewear, _nightwear…_ it was all new, and all chosen under Shizune and Jiraiya's carefully eyes. She hadn't even had a say in a single article of clothing.

"May I come in, Hinata-sama?"

"Eh…" She cast an eye about her surroundings. Hastily piling all the nightwear – _if it could be even called that, it was so skimpy! – _into a drawer in the corner, she stood up. "C-Come in!"

Neji stepped inside, cool eyes curiously surveying the disaster zone that he had just walked into – or rather, waded into, for there was no space to walk on the floor. Bending to remove a pile of formal kimono from his way, he slowly made his way to the centre of the room.

Hinata smiled – a slightly wobbly smile – as she saw her cousin and confidant try to puzzle out what the different garments were. A genius he may be, but no one could deny that Hyuuga Neji was still completely clueless when it came to girls.

The aforementioned prodigy wrinkled his nose in distaste and sat down, letting out a sound vaguely similar to "Che!" Then, he looked up at Hinata.

She let out a whoosh of breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Nii-san."

"Hinata-sama," his voice was carefully structured. Clearly, he wasn't sure about how to proceed with whatever he had to say. He paused, confused, and for a moment, she was glad. She was sure that this was going to be an uncomfortable conversation.

"We – that is, Hanabi-sama and I – have noticed – well, not really noticed, just _observed_, I guess you could say –"

"Nii-san, would you l-like some w-water?"

He was thrown off. When he spoke next, his voice was uncertain. "E-eh, sure, why not?"

She poured him out a glass and watched silently as he downed it. The tension in the room could have been cut through with a knife.

Suddenly, her cousin slammed the glass down on the low table, a determined expression taking over his face. She flinched slightly at his expression, something which she was sure was Naruto-inspired. She had seen it on him before – it meant that he was going to go in for the kill, consequences be damned.

"Hinata-sama, is something wrong?"

Wrong? Yes. So much is wrong, nii-san. I don't know what I'm going to do.

"Wr-wrong? What do you mean by that, nii-san?"

Neji sighed, clearly expecting this answer. Hinata wasn't a person who would so easily give him an answer. He'd have to play a long game of duck-duck-goose trying to figure it out.

"I – and Hanabi-sama, of course – have seen that you've been somewhat discomfited since the last meeting with the elders. You know, the one in which Kaede-sama was injured."

A tinkle as she poured another glass of water out for him.

"How was she injured, incidentally?"

"I snapped her wrist."

The vague sounds of someone choking upon their drink.

"Y-you –" cough "did _what_?" A series of coughs.

She looked up at him calmly, but there were tears shining in her eyes and her face was flushed.

"She deserved it, nii-san. Oh, if you knew what they're making me go through!"

And with that, she burst into tears.

* * *

><p>"Ne, Sakura, have you heard?"<p>

"Heard what, Minami-san?"

"One of the Uchiha boys – you know, the ones from the main family – yeah, one of them is getting married to the Hyuuga heiress."

"The Hyuuga heiress? You mean… Hinata-chan?"

"Yeah, I guess that was her name. Wow, this is sure unexpected, isn't it?"

"One of the Uchiha boys, you said? Which one?"

"Dunno. Nobody knows for sure. But it sure ain't a love marriage, that we know for sure. Apparently, their dads sat down long ago and drew up some sort of a contract. Sad, isn't it?"

"That's… that's impossible. Sasuke-kun's dad wouldn't do something like this… would he?"

"Well, I dunno now, do I?" The voice was slightly peeved. "I just heard it from Kusumi, who swears that Shizune-san's in charge of 'preparing the bride' or some other bullshit."

"Shizune-san? She has something to do with this?"

"Well, now," The voice sounded slightly uncomfortable at her companion's rising temper. "I don't know if she's involved personally. But it can never hurt to ask, yeah?"

A flash. Sakura was gone.

* * *

><p>It hasn't even been a full day since I've returned to the village.<p>

No, really. I mean, one night is over, but I arrived at noon, and it's only morning now.

And yet, they've already managed to spring a lifetime's worth of surprises on me.

When Shisui told me about what Father had planned for Itachi, I have to admit, I didn't take him seriously at all. The guy has a reputation with fucking with heads, and he seems to exceptionally enjoy annoying me. I presumed that this was another one of his pranks. Wouldn't be the first time, to be sure.

Because which Uchiha in their right mind would willingly marry of their kid to a Hyuuga?

I don't remember any Hyuuga girl in my Academy class, but to be honest, I don't remember many people from there at all. Naruto, Sakura, Ino… that's about it. The rest were too… inconsequential.

Not that these three were _special _or anything. They've just managed to annoy me enough to stay ingrained in my memory forever. It's hard to forget people like that, no matter how hard you try. And believe me, I've tried.

So if there was a Hyuuga in my class, she was completely forgettable.

The irony of it all overcomes me for a moment, managing to elicit a dark chuckle. Itachi, the poster boy for 'good son', the rising star, the perfect pinnacle of perfectness, married off to a nobody. Some would say that he even deserved it.

I would be a member of that group. But I love my brother.

It angers me, the way everyone seems to have accepted it so calmly. Mother, his friends… and been the bridegroom-to-be himself. They're just resignedly waiting around until he's led to the altar with a kunai at his back and some simpering Hyuuga fangirl at his front.

It's inhuman, what they're doing to him. Not only because they're arranging his marriage – that's a pretty common, though old-fashioned, practice among the High Clans – but because he's been treated like a lab rat. They're _experimenting _on him.

Don't they understand? The Hokage, Father, even those damn Hyuuga. This isn't some kind of a… a _test subject_ that they're using. This is a real, flesh-and-blood person, who has thoughts, feeling, hopes, a _life._

Itachi won't say anything. He's the perfect son. He'll obey father, even if father orders him to set himself on fire and jump off a damn fucking bridge.

But I will.

This is my brother they're talking about here, and no matter how much of a dolt he may be, it's my responsibility to ensure that he doesn't go around completely ruining his life. He's too blockheaded to know it himself, so I guess I'll just have to help him see.

Itachi's too talented, too hardworking, to be thrown aside like this. I won't let them carry out their genetic experiments on him. They can have someone else if they want, but my brother isn't going to be used like this.

And since there are really only two sides in this affair, and one has already clammed up, saying something about 'duty' and 'honour' and 'responsibility', I guess I'll have to go find the other one.

Time to go find out more about this Hyuuga Hibata girl.

* * *

><p>The front bell rang, signifying the entrance of yet another customer. Ino sighed, wiping her sweaty forehead with a pretty, dandelion-patterned handkerchief. It had been a busy day at the Yamanaka flower shop, but she was relieved. Business had been going slow for the past few weeks, and she was glad to see it finally pick up.<p>

She called out to the new customer: "Just a minute!" She was supervising the home delivery of a bouquet of twelve absolutely gorgeous roses. She had to make sure that there was nothing out of place – the flower shop had a reputation to uphold, after all.

When she was done, she walked out into the front room to find, greatly to her surprise, a certain Uchiha waiting for her.

"Sasuke-kun!" Her greeting was perhaps overly enthusiastic, but _that _was justifiable. She cast a quick glance around the rest of the flower shop – empty! Yes! This was a good day. She had Sasuke all to herself.

"Yamanaka." Her beloved's voice was terse, tense. He seemed slightly irritated and nervous, and she wondered for a moment what he was doing in here. Maybe… he wasn't here to buy flowers for some other girl, was he?

"Oi, if you've come here to buy flowers for Sakura, then…!"

"What? Where did you even _get_ that idea from…!"

"Oh. Then, what are you here for, Sasuke-kun? Come here to see me?" She batted her eyelashes.

Sasuke scowled. "Stop with the fantasies, Yamanaka. I've come here with a deal."

She blinked. "A deal?"

"Well," he relented. "More like a question, perhaps. You used to be in the same class in the Academy as the one I was in, right? Was there ever a Hyuuga in our class?"

Well, _that _was unexpected. She tried not to let him see how thrown off she was. "A Hyuuga…? Why do _you_ want to know?"

He sighed irritably. "Just tell me, would you, Yamanaka?"

She smirked. It was a distant possibility, but since when was she one to give up even the most remote options?

"I'll tell you if you take me out on a date this weekend, Sasu-ke," she said in a sing-song voice, blue eyes twinkling mischeviously.

Her companion gaped at her. "What the…!" His eyes hardened. "No way in hell, Yamanaka! Just tell me already, or I'll just go ask someone else!"

"Fine then, go! Ino Yamanaka doesn't give out any information without a reward, pretty boy. So if you want me to open my perfectly glossed mouth, then you better start raising the stakes. Or else, you can just go around Konoha, grabbing every former classmate and asking them whether they remember a Hyuuga in their class. It's your choice," she unconcernedly flicked her perfect blonde ponytail. "I'm not really concerned here, am I? And I don't take kindly to being spoken rudely to, you know."

He sighed in frustration. Despite her big mouth, Ino really was his best bet. Sakura would have a thousand questions, and Naruto probably wouldn't remember either, same as him. He didn't really have much of a choice. "I'm not going out on a date with you. But you can ask me to do something else… and if I find it acceptable, then _maybe _I'll do it."

Her eyes brightened, and for a moment, he was sure that he had seen dollar signs appearing in them. A slightly wicked smile began to play on her face, and he felt sudden cold apprehension begin to trickle down his back.

"Well, there is one thing…"

She was an _excellent _businesswoman, after all.

* * *

><p>Uzumaki Naruto yawned as he stepped out of his apartment. It was a beautiful day, and he fully intended to start it off with a late breakfast at Ichiraku's, and then a hardcore training session wearing his special green jumpsuit with Lee and Gai. It was one of his only free days, and he didn't intend to waste a single moment of it.<p>

The sun shone down on him brightly as he made his way through Konoha's busy streets. It was market day, and it seemed as though at least one representative of every family in the village was in the market that day, haggling over the lowest vendor's prices. He felt a small smile cross his face as he took in his fellow citizens. So innocent, so helpless… they were almost all civilians. Seeing them happy and bright like this only reinforced his decision to become a strong Hokage and protect them all.

The overactive blond nin made his way towards Ichiraku's ramen shop. He remembered how, when he was younger, his mentor, Iruka-sensei used to bring him here to treat him to ramen sometimes. It really had been far too long since he had seen Iruka-sensei. Or, for that matter, since he had met up with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, or even Sasuke-teme. Kakashi was on a mission, of course, and Sakura spent most of her time at the hospital nowadays. But Sasuke was due to return from him mission yesterday, which meant that he should be in Konoha right now…

A sudden commotion attracted his attention towards a side alley, where two men were running at top speed, pushing a cart in front of them. The cart was loaded with flowers high up, a veritable mountain of blossoms. Its momentum was too strong, and the two men were unable to control it – the cart was in danger of hurting any passerbys.

Naruto went into action, his body feeling the familiar thrill of adrenaline as he ran towards the flower cast. Springing up onto some vendor's canopy, he aimed a powerful kick at the cart, feeling satisfied as all the wheels were knocked out and the cart settled on the road with a loud '_thump!_'

The two men who were obviously in charge of the cart came running up behind him, bowing profusely. "Thank you, good sir!" One of them cried with obvious relief. "We don't know what we would have done without you…!"

Naruto regally inclined his head the way he imagined a future Hokage should. "It's nothing!" His trademark grin was on full force. "Just another day in the life of the great Uzumaki Naruto!"

The two men suddenly stiffened and exchanged startled glances. The bulkier of the two ventured to ask: "Sir? Could you possibly be… Uzumaki Naruto, the chuunin…?"

He felt an explosion of joy within him, and the whole world seemed inexplicably sweet to him within that instant. Even these random civilians had heard of him. The legends surrounding him and his good deeds must be reaching far indeed. "Yeah, that's me, dattebayo! Why? You've heard of me before?"

The two men exchanged nervous glances. It was then that he noticed suddenly that they were both wearing shirts which had 'Yamanaka Flower Shop' written on top, and that even the now-disabled cart had that logo stamped on to the side.

Both the men suddenly dropped to their knees. He – and the rest of the village's population on the street – gaped at them.

"H-hey, what're you doing…?"

"Oh, Naruto-kun!" The first man burst out in a melodious tenor while the second pulled out a shamizen and proceeded to play it.

He repeated:

"Oh, Naruto-kun!

My own personal sun!

The world does not know how much I adore you

But today, oh yes, today!

Today you must know, my love

That you and I, together we equal perfection

Our future is bright! We must

Stick together at all times

For our love is everlasting!

How many times have I stared at you

When we were on a mission, and you were asleep

Peacefully – oh, you are so beautiful!

Your magnificent whiskers! Your baby-yellow hair

I think I'm in love! I cannot wait for your response!

Love me forever, Naruto-kun!

Yours forever, your beloved

These flowers are from –

Uchiha Sasuke!"

As the last strings of the shamizen died out, the townpeople stared bewildered. Then, suddenly, speech broke out like a wildfire.

"Did he just…!"

"Uchiha Sasuke? You mean like _the _Uchiha Sasuke?!"

"Hey, do you think they're going out or something…?"

"Was this a proposal? It sure seemed like one…"

"Wait, does this mean that Uchiha Sasuke is _gay_?!"

Upon hearing that last statement, half the females in the crowd fainted.

Naruto ground his teeth. This… this _catastrophe_… this _tragedy…_ this was all _his_ fault!

"Teme!"

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke cocked his head.<p>

He was on his way to Training Ground number 72, where he was told that Hyuuga _Hinata_, not Hibata, often practiced along with her teammates, that Inuzuka cur and the creepy bug-boy.

He looked back over his shoulder. He could have sworn that he had just heard Naruto's voice screaming that familiar insult which he used to address Sasuke.

The younger Uchiha had just escaped from Ino's shop with the information needed in hand. The little extortionist had made him buy every single flower in her damn shop, and when she had asked him where he wanted it to be sent, he had panicked. Briefly considering his mother, he had disregarded the idea – she would smell something fishy in this incident and eventually force him to divulge it entirely, something that he didn't want to do. Sakura was out of the running, too, as she would surely misinterpret this gesture.

Kakashi would tease him forever… and Itachi was just as adept as their mother at making him divulge information. So, there was only one option left. He had sent the flowers to the dobe with a card, explaining that he, Sasuke, couldn't take care of the flowers himself, and could the dobe please dispose them off?

Ino had pouted when he had refused to send her even a single flower. He would have done it, if he hadn't known that she had the biggest mouth in town, and that the news of his asking about the Hyuuga heiress would have already spread through half of Konoha like a wildfire. If he ever gave Ino a single flower, even if it was a weed, she'd probably go around telling everybody how the two of them were engaged or something.

The evil glint in Ino's eyes made him reconsider his decision, though. He couldn't help but wonder if she had sent the flowers to the wrong person... or maybe changed the message a little or something…

Nah. She wouldn't do something like that, would she?

Would she?


	4. Chapter 4

**Check the summary. Yep, that's right. This story is officially discontinued, now and forever. It's just become... too much. If anyone wants to adopt it, they're welcome to. :) After PMing me, of course.**

**I've uploaded all the three chapters which I'd written earlier. Enjoy. :S**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

The hospital bustled with a nervous, unsettled energy. It was a warm and sunny day, too warm to be truly comfortable, and the white tiles threw up so much heat that she felt as though she may pass out. Nevertheless, she pressed on, gritted teeth and determined frown betraying how truly angry she was.

Her pink hair flashed among the crowd as she darted to the front desk. "Tsuzuki," her voice was clipped. "Which floor is Shizune-san assigned to today?"

The woman – no, not yet a woman, she was barely a girl – at the front desk raised her face, bright brown eyes blinking rapidly. She seemed rather like a bird, with her fine, delicate bones, rapidly fluttering eyelashes, and that mouth of hers, perpetually opening and closing itself, like a goldfish would. She felt a stab of anger. Tsuzuki always reminded herself of Ino, of her best friend's worst traits, and on a day like this, she really could not bear the thought of having to sit through another trying conversation with this girl.

The girl readjusted her spectacles. "Why, Sakura-chan, I didn't know it was your shift already!" Her grin was too wide, too blinding. Why didn't she just divulge the information already? "I'm afraid Shizune-sama isn't working right now," the girl said, glancing down at her register. "She has some private business to do. But if you wait right here, she should be around in an hour or two!" she chirped.

An hour? This damn hospital wouldn't be _standing _in an hour, with the state that she was in. Calmly, she tried to explain herself, even managing to insert a little bit of her trademark sweetness into the words. "Tsuzuki-chan," she said, with a coy, slightly embarrassed smile, "I'm afraid I committed a bit of a mistake with some rather important paperwork… and you know how Hokage-sama is about stuff like this. She'd _kill _me. I really need to find Shizune-san as soon as possible." She finished off her statement with a winning smile, bright green eyes glistening like emeralds in the shining hospital.

It worked. The girl thawed a little. "Aww, Sakura-chan, of course I'm happy to help! I'll just look through these pages and see where Shizune-san has listed her emergency contact as, hai? I'd do anything for you, because we're such good friends, aren't we? To tell the truth –" here she leaned forward "– I think you're the only person here who can appreciate a good gossip."

The vein in her forehead was throbbing, but she tried her best to subdue it and present as friendly a demeanor as she could towards Tsuzuki. The girl in front of her was notoriously prickly, and might refuse to help her with this errand if she felt offended. She giggled a little. "Hai, you're right, Tsuzuki-chan. To tell the truth, I've been so busy lately that I've completely missed out on all the best gossip. I'd really love for you to tell me all about it in a while… as soon as I see Shizune…"

The brunette clapped her hands excitedly. "Why, Sakura-chan I'd love that! Why, there's so much exciting information going around right now, like the fact that nurse Amori – _you_ know her, right, Sakura-chan – might be having an affair with that man, what's his name, Ibiki Morino! Oh, and of course the fact that Uchiha Sasuke might be gay…"

She had been inching away with that same fake smile plastered onto her lips, the precious little slip of paper with Shizune's current location scrawled onto it clutched in her hands, when she stopped short. That nervous tick in her forehead began to beat faster than ever, quite obviously evident on her face right now, beating a steady tattoo. She spoke in a slow, quiet voice. "What did you say?"

"Oh, haven't you heard? Rumour has it that Uchiha Sasuke bought the entire contents of the Yamanaka flower shop this morning, and had it delivered to some other guy – and right in the middle of the market, too! With a love-poem to go along with it. _I _personally think that it's completely romantic, don't you think, Sakura-san? … Sakura-san?"

But Tsuzuki spoke only to the wind, for Sakura was already gone, her slip of paper clutched tight in her hand.

* * *

><p>Ino was calmly relaxing inside her empty shop when she felt the windows rattle, and the next thing she knew, she was faced down by the Wrath of God.<p>

"Ino," the furious voice thundered. "Explain yourself!"

The blonde kuniochi cheerfully stared up into the face of her confronter and smiled. "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sakura. You don't come and see me after I return from missions anymore, che."

The face glaring furiously at her grew a little more contorted. "_Don't –"_ **SLAM **" – _play –" _**SLAM**_ " –games –" _**SLAM**_ " –with me __**DAMMIT!**__"_

With the last thunk, the abused wooden counter fell onto the floor limply, broken into innumerable splinters. Ino looked into her friend's face, and realized that she was truly furious.

"Sakura," she spoke, alarmed, the natural concern of a friend leaking into her voice. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sakura raised her face, and Ino was alarmed to see the tears pouring down her face in troves.

"Oh, Ino!" She wailed, "_Every_thing's wrong! I have too much work, my parents are pressurizing me to settle down with a non-shinobi, civilian boy already, Tsunade-sama works me to the bone, and now I'm hearing some bullshit about how Sasuke's engaged, and then about how he's gay and gave some other guy flowers… Oh, Ino, I just don't know what to think!"

Ino couldn't believe her ears. "Sasuke's _gay?_" she croaked out disbelievingly, voice rising a pitch after hearing that her childhood friend was attracted to the opposite sex. "Wait a minute, Sasuke's _engaged_?!"

Sakura just sobbed harder. "I don't know, I don't know anything anymore! All I hear is that today Sasuke sent a whole _cartload_ of flowers to some guy from your shop, and then I didn't know who to confront, so I came here, because, dammit, it was your shop! You're the only one who might have some answers."

Ino blinked, her eyes a little puzzled, and then remembering the events of that morning, she smiled guiltily. "Eh, Sakura, the incident about the flowers… well, just put that out of your mind, will you? It isn't anything serious. If that's what got you thinking that Sasuke is gay… well, he's not, I think." She smiled doubtfully, mentally trying to correlate the stoic boy she knew with the stereotypical image of a homosexual male.

Sakura glanced at her sharply. "What do you mean, Ino?" Her voice sounded thin, brittle – she sounded as though she was on the edge.

Ino's guilty smile grew wider, even as the mental image of a simpering Sasuke cooing after a reluctant Naruto threatened to choke her. "It was a joke, Sakura. A prank, if you must. Now can we please move on? What's this about Sasuke being engaged?" Her friend's unblinking stare was beginning to unnerve her.

Sakura dropped the intimidating glare, suddenly becoming aware of the original problem at hand. "Minami – you remember her, don't you – she told me that Sasuke's father had betrothed one of the Uchiha boys – and by that he means either Sasuke or Itachi-san – to the Hyuuga heiress, that is Hinata-san. But that can't possibly be true, can it? There's no way an Uchiha would betroth their child to a _Hyuuga _of all people. For heaven's sake, to say that they loathe each other would be the understatement of the millennium. They couldn't possibly have done it, right, Ino? Why… are you looking like that?"

Ino's relieved smile had frozen on her face as she remembered a certain conversation that had taken place earlier during the day.

"_Was there ever a Hyuuga in our class?"_

A Hyuuga in their class. The only Hyuuga child who had been of the same age as them had been Hinata. Hinata, the shy girl who had stared at oblivious Naruto with such admiration. Hinata, who hid her face behind her sleeve whenever she smiled. Hinata, who still had traces of that persistent stutter. Hinata, whom she had seen just the other day. Hinata, who was the Hyuuga heiress…

"Sakura-chan," she found herself saying – her mind numb, her mouth mindlessly forming the words. "Sit down. I have something to tell you."

* * *

><p>"Always remember, when you're going for a formal occasion, stick to sober colours, Hinata-chan, while informal ones may allow more variety. And of course, variety's always welcome in the bedroom, too, eh?!" the older man winked slyly at her.<p>

She blushed with all the propriety of a maiden, even if she wasn't technically one any longer. It wasn't as though she wasn't aware of what went on in a bedroom… just the fact that the idea of wearing _that stuff _in front of a complete stranger made her feel queasy, to say the least. She tried her best to avoid thinking of it entirely.

It had been just about a week now, just about a week since her life had turned upside-down. She had spent most of her days wallowing around, thinking about how completely fucked she was, how there was absolutely no chance of her every making it out of this mess. Hanabi had the best tutors, the best chances of winning against her elder sister even now, when she was just barely a genin. No doubt she would be trained intensively in preparation for the upcoming family drama. Moreover, her father kept her so busy that she never had a chance to go out to the training fields and really practice. She had no opportunity to improve herself, and the days were ticking away.

Not that it would do much good if she just practiced by herself, either. What she really needed was a teacher, a real tutor who would point out all the mistakes she was making and teach her new techniques. Working with Kiba and Shino was all fine, but the two of them weren't nearly hard enough with her. And they had been so persistent, lately, so determined to find out what was wrong with her – it had really become quite annoying. She didn't want them to know just yet. She wasn't a fool, she knew that the information would leak out eventually – all secrets did – but she didn't want to be the one to tell them, to face their incredulous stares and the endless repetition of curses against her family, her father, the elders.

She was avoiding them. She would have preferred to state it in a more dignified manner, but the fact of the matter was that she was avoiding them. Which was foolish, because they were her brothers in all but blood, and if there was anyone who could lift her spirits, it was Kiba. She just didn't feel up to it, that was all. The constant etiquette training didn't help with her stamina, either.

Jiraiya was still fussing over her clothes when Shizune came close by and began lecturing her about the proper way to greet the heads of states. She had done this all before, of course, but always with a different role in mind, that of a leader. She was the one who would stand in the spotlight, who would confront the shrewd leaders head on – now her role had been delegated to the back, reduced to wearing an elegant kimono and arranging everything so that her guests could be as comfortable as possible. Since altruism came more naturally to her than inborn leadership skills, she was surprised to find herself enjoying her new role, and could not help but feel a little happy at this relaxation of duties – nevertheless, her snide memory reminded her quickly enough of exactly behind _whom _she would be standing, and her gloom returned as fast as it had lifted.

She had spent a great deal of the past few days thinking about her intended betrothed, Uchiha Itachi. She knew very little about him, just the bare basics. She remembered his brother slightly – Uchiha Sasuke, if she wasn't mistaken, a genius in the Academy. He had ended up being in the same team as Naruto-kun. She closed her eyes and tried to pull out his features in an attempt to better assemble his brother's – she vaguely had a hint of pale, ivory-white skin and deep, dark eyes and hair, finely tuned features and a rather condescending smirk – when the vision disappeared. She sighed and opened her eyes.

Yesterday, Shizune-san had once again brought up a topic that her father had briefly touched upon, then disregarded. Speaking frankly and clearly to the poor, frightened, blushing girl, she had kindly explained that their courtship wasn't quite on a normal level, quite besides the whole 'arranged' factor. Unlike other couples, theirs had a motive – to produce a child as soon as possible. Well aware of Hinata's excessive shyness and Itachi's stony demeanor, the Hokage had pressed for meetings between the two in order to develop an acquaintance, if not a friendship or a relationship between the two. They would be able to get to the real business sooner, she reasoned, if they had spoken a few words to each other before, instead of only having glanced at each other through a few official ceremonies. With this intent in mind, she had drafted the present situation, which, though not ideal, might just do. They would both be supervised, of course – it was not proper, otherwise – but they had to meet, they had to talk. Sooner or later, Hinata would meet her fiancé head-on for the first time, converse with him one-on-one, try to hold his attention and find something in common. She could feel her bones turn into jelly already.

She had never been very comfortable around the opposite sex. The only people she was really comfortable with were her teammates, her cousin, and a few choice childhood friends. The vague memory she had of Uchiha Sasuke – cold, unapproachable – did nothing to assuage her fears of his reportedly even more detached brother. How was she supposed to meet with this man, to try to carry on a conversation with him, while she knew that the whole time he would be blaming her for ruining her life?

* * *

><p>The Hyuuga were serious about their safety. Ever since a certain incident years ago, when the ex-Heiress had been kidnapped from within the safety of their own walls and carried off by Cloud ninja, Hiashi had ordered that border patrols be carried out 247. The shinobi belonging to the noble house would take turns patrolling the walls and the gate, and would keep a sharp eye over all intruders into the compound.

This afternoon, it was Neji's turn. The Hyuuga genius readjusted his headband so that it would cover the green tattoo across his forehead, and stood near the gate determinedly, bored out of his mind. He was fully confident of his abilities, and even surer about the fact that there was no chance that the compound would be broken into. There was never any trouble at the gates – but it was a precaution that Hiashi-sama insisted that they take. Neji was honour- and duty-bound to obey his uncle, and that was the decree that saw him sitting out in the hot sun in the middle of the blazing afternoon.

He was thinking about his cousin, the less evil one. It was obvious that there was something wrong with Hinata, but his younger sister persistently refused to tell him what was going on. If she had snapped enough to break Hyuuga Kaede's wrist, then it was obvious that some truly disastrous event had taken place. He had heard rumours about displacing Hinata with Hanabi in the past few days, but had always dismissed them as false – such words popped up over time, and they had already made the rounds several times over the course of the last few years. The Hyuuga, proud as they were, were dissatisfied with their Heiress' perceived deficiencies, and as Hanabi had grown and proved to be quite a capable ninja, the number of people voicing their opinion about uprooting their current Heiress and replacing her with her younger sister grew. Such words were always communicated in whispers, however, for the people who discussed them were almost invariably Branch house members, and besides, it was up to the Elders to do as they wished. If they wished to keep Hinata, then Hinata would remain the Heiress – if Hanabi was chosen, then Hanabi would be crowned. It was as simple as that.

Neji did not usually bother to listen to such rumours because of their frequency and also because of the utter lack of prophetic conviction which they carried. Hinata-sama had spent the last seventeen years in this world as Heiress – there was almost no doubt that she would spend many a year as the Heiress in the future. Besides, she was improving of late – he had noticed a visible improvement in her practice of the Jyuuken, and he felt proud that his younger sister was trying her utmost to prove herself.

This time, however, was different. The rumours had abruptly started, instead of their usual slow build-up, and all on the day when Kaede-sama had had that unfortunate accident. Now, he knew that the accident was in fact deliberate, and that the offender had been Hinata. He was quite worried at her out-of-character behavior – Hinata was polite to the extent of self-deprecation. She would never raise her hand towards an elder, no matter how undesirable and frustrating that elder may prove to be. What had caused her to snap? Not to mention the fact that Shizune-sama and the Hokage's favourite sidekick were spending an awful lot of time at the Hyuuga compound these days. Jiraiya-sama and Shizune popped up randomly, always carrying huge black bags, and made their way straight to Hinata's room, where the three of them would spent the next few hours closeted up. Hinata had missed many a day of training due to this reason alone. He would have thought that his uncle, a stickler for the age-old adage of 'practice makes perfect' would have frowned at this wayward behavior, but even Hiashi Hyuuga was ignoring the discrepancies in his daughter's conduct. It really was too strange to contemplate.

This was usually how Neji utilized all the free time available to him while guarding the front gate – by daydreaming about a particular brunette kuniochi and also by trying to solve the Mysteries of Life. So disturbed was he by this unusual twist in his cousin's behavior that he quite entirely forgot to remember his sweet teammate, that girl with her hair up in two buns, the one he often thought of.

His reverie was interrupted when he spotted what he thought was a dust cloud at the horizon. The cloud seemed to be approaching at a fantastic rate, and was hovering only a few centimeters above the ground. As it approached, he saw that the cloud was actually Haruno Sakura, walking at a furious rate, her face twisted into an ugly scowl, face and arms and dress coated over with dust. The expression on her face said that she would ram down the walls of the compound itself if they did not let her in. Any ordinary man would have caved and let her pass without asking her for id or intention.

Neji was not an ordinary man. He quickly juxtaposed himself between the beautiful building and the apparition that was swiftly approaching them. As she drew closer, he inclined his head a little, and said in a rather dry voice. "Sakura-san. Welcome to the Hyuuga compound. How may I help you today?"

Sakura's voice was jumpy, angry. "You can start," she snarled. "By getting the fuck out of the way!"

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama."<p>

His appearance was silent, untraceable, but he knew that she had sensed him coming. The woman sitting in front of him was extraordinary, possessing amazing strength. He could not hope to best her.

She acknowledged them with a slight inclination of the neck. "Kakashi. You're late."

It wasn't even an admonition anymore. Everyone knew that Copy-Cat Kakashi would always be late, and that he would always come up with a fantastic (and completely untrue) excuse to set off any possible queries. She sometimes wondered if he had escaped from many a fight by just being too late to it.

"Well, you see, there was this emergency with this old woman…" he drawled, but today she had no patience for it.

"Leave it, Kakashi! I can't be bothered with your excuses anymore. I've got more important things to do."

"Oh, you'll love this one," the masked nin assured her, his one visible eye glinting dangerously. "Because, see, today I ran into this old woman, who told me, nay, _assured _me, that my precious student was getting married off, all without telling me. What do you say to that, I wonder?"

He had to remind himself once again that she was Tsunade, the Godaime, the descendant of the Senju clan, and one of the Sannin. He had to remember all this, because otherwise he might just have found himself analyzing ways to take her down, and he just couldn't do that, could he?

Because he might just find himself traitorously executing his plan, and what would happen then? The women of Konoha would be deprived of some lovely company, and Jiraiya of a loyal and faithful fan. So he'd better just stay put here, and fantasize about it.

The consequences were too dire to imagine.

Tsunade looked confused. "What on earth are you talking about?"

His rage spiked, and he could feel his spine tense. Even his trademark cool wasn't enough to stifle his fury towards her at that moment. He was beyond anger, beyond all reasonable deductions. The idea that a boy who he loved as he would a son was to be married off, at this young age, and all because this one woman wished that would happen, was impossible and reprehensible.

Luckily, another voice hastily interrupted, before he could do anything that he might regret.

"I do believe that he's talking about the younger Uchiha boy, Tsunade-sama," a female voice said briskly. "Sasuke, if I remember correctly. He was in the same class as Naruto."

He turned to see the Hokage's assistant standing beside the door, looking her utmost to appear innocuous. He had sensed her presence earlier, but hadn't given it much thought. He was irately grateful for her interruption, aware that she had sensed his anxiety, and had attempted to offset it.

Tsunade appeared annoyed. "Why would I be bothered with the younger boy? For God's sake, Kakashi, stop annoying me. First you come late, and then all his hullabulloo…"

He blinked, surprised. "Wait, do you mean to say that…?"

Shizune hastily interposed herself between the two of them. "The one who is betrothed is Uchiha Itachi, not Sasuke. Your student is safe, Kakashi." Her black eyes warned him not to pursue the topic.

He could feel the waves of tension roll off his shoulder. It wasn't as though he didn't feel bad for the elder Uchiha – knowing Itachi personally, he could feel a small twinge of guilt and sympathy towards the exceptional shinobi. But the fact that his own student was off the hook left him with a dizzying sense of relief.

He had felt almost… parental.

"So Itachi is to be married," concluded Shizune. "In fact, that's why the Hokage summoned you here today, is it not, Tsunade-hime?"

Tsunade's hazel eyes sharpened. "Shizune," her voice was clipped. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be over at the Hyuuga compound –"

"And indeed, that was the case, Tsunade-sama. However, as Jiraiya-sama is currently teaching Hinata-chan about the different types of ceremony and the usage of cutlery at them, I felt that my presence was unneeded there and made my way back to the Hokage tower. A wise decision, I see."

"Yes," Tsunade said simply, staring out of the window at the village below, with an almost affectionate expression on her face. Her eyes were hooded, and very far away – it was clear that she was remembering something from a long time ago. Kakashi felt as though he was intruding.

Then, abruptly, her vision cleared, and she turned back with the determination and haughtiness which was her trademark. "Kakashi. You have already heard about the betrothal, I suppose. That's good – I won't have to explain extensively anymore. I'm tired of talking about this topic already."

She sighed and steepled her hands in front of her face. Kakashi grabbed the opportunity.

"Why are you arranging a match for Itachi? He is one of Konoha's finest soldiers, a dutiful shinobi. Saddling him with an unwanted wife will only leave him irritable, not to mention, distract him from his duties. Moreover, is it not a clan matter? I know that Itachi is exceptional, and that he is the Heir, but I still believe that the matter as to whom he is to be married is within clan jurisdiction…"

"Not so." Tsunade's voice was clipped. "Sit down, Kakashi. I am going to tell you a story.

"You know as well as I do that Konoha depends on its clans for its survival. Our strength lies in the Senjus, the Inuzukas, the Yamanakas… and most of all on our four noble clans, the Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Akimichi, and the Aburame. While their members have intermarried throughout the years, due to an overblown rivalry, the members of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga have never produced any progeny.

"That is not to say that they never tried. It's just that the mothers were killed out of shame while the child was still in the womb.

"Now this produces an interesting medical junction. Both the clans are known for their extraordinarily strong kekkei genkai. Will a child of this union possess the Sharingan or the Byakugan. Or both? Or will it instead develop a whole new kind of kekkei genkai? It's interesting to speculate, don't you think? Well, I, for one, decided to test instead of merely hypothesize."

"You don't mean to say that…"

"That's exactly what I mean to say. I'm interested in knowing how a child born of an Uchiha and a Hyuuga would turn out. I came with this proposal to the Third years ago, when the younger daughter of the Hyuuga was born, and he agreed. We carried out negotiations between the two clans, and while they were initially quite reluctant, well, what's all this fame for if not to scare. Hiashi and Fugaku are both greedy men – it's just a matter of how to push their buttons. They came around eventually."

"So you're telling me that you're marrying Itachi off to a Hyuuga? With his father's _consent._" It was too fantastic, too improbable to be true. Though the Hokage _did _have clout in the village, being the leader, it was also true that the Hyuuga and the Uchiha played important roles and were powerful in their own right. The idea that she could have somehow convinced them to overcome their deep-rooted dislike for each other and intermarry, seemed incredible, to say the least.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Except for the fact that it won't just be _any _Hyuuga. For the experiment to work perfectly, only those who are purest of blood must be chosen. That's why I settled on either Itachi or his younger brother – they are both descended directly from the first Uchiha, with no intermixing of blood along the way. Fugaku was quick in offering me his firstborn – that man always did have high expectations of him…"

"But wait, then who is the Hyuuga?"

"Personally, I would have preferred that it be Neji. The boy is a genius like no other – the very fact that he managed to learn the Kaiten simply by observation speaks volumes about his abilities. However, it's quite obvious why I couldn't choose him… even though he is technically a descendant of the Main Branch, being Hizashi's son. And Fugaku doesn't have any daughters. Therefore, I had to settle on one of the Hyuuga girls. Originally, the clan offered up their youngest, Hana-something, but now I believe they've changed their position to reflect that the eldest will instead take part in the experiment."

"The eldest. But that's… Hinata Hyuuga, isn't it? Kurenai's pupil?" His tone was incredulous as he tried to recall that shy, practically invisible girl who often seemed to revolve around Naruto.

"Yes. I wondered why they would select their heir, seeing as it would leave them heirless, but now it appears that they have replaced her with her younger sister. Besides, Hinata is perfect. She will turn of marriageable age next year, which makes the timing impeccable. I've been laying this experiment out for too long – now I want results."

Kakashi stared at her, perplexed. For once, he was at a loss for what to say. He had never heard of something like this before, had not even thought that this could happen. As far as he had known, the hatred between the Uchiha and the Hyuuga stretched far into the depths of history. The two clans were notoriously antagonistic. The very fact that Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuuga had agreed to be subject to the same treaty was incredible… and the fact that they had allowed their _own _children to marry was nothing short of miraculous. He was still reeling.

"I… don't really know what to say, Tsunade. It seems too outlandish for words. If this seat wasn't so uncomfortable, I might have thought that I was dreaming about all of this." Here he allowed himself a chuckle. "But what does this have to do with me? If the betrothal concerns Itachi and Hinata… well, shouldn't you approach Kurenai instead of me?"

Tsunade leaned forward, hazel eyes burning with unparalleled intensity. "Kakashi, remember, this isn't just some marriage. This is a marriage with a motive. There's a time limit to this thing, and the sooner they complete the race, the better. They need to know each other, to be comfortable with each other. Neither of them are the type to jump into bed with someone they don't know."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I do know a lot about this topic, but don't you think Jiraiya-sama might prove to be the better tutor? I am but his follower."

She waved her hand dismissively. "That isn't what I was talking about at all. Itachi and the Hyuuga girl need to meet, and both the clans have agreed to this. But they insist on some sort of chaperone being there with them. Now, I know that if the clans are allowed to send someone of their own, some boring, stuffy old elder spoil this whole plan. For Katsuyu's sake, this isn't the reign of the First Hokage anymore! The two of them will probably spend the entire time sipping tea like idiots, as though they were practicing for a tea ceremony. No, I need someone more accomplished, someone who would do a better job at blending into the background and letting the two of them jabber away like the lovebirds they will be!"

He closed his eyes and sighed. He had to ask, even if he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew the answer. "Are you going to make me the chaperone, Tsunade-sama?"

She smiled coyly, once again drawing attention to her beautiful features. "Such a genius, Kakashi. I'm banking on you to make those two comfortable with each other. You're considered fairly respectable, you know. That's the only reason why the clans agreed. I don't think they're aware of your… _fascination… _for Jiraiya's books."

He could feel the hidden warning in her carefree tone, the one that assured him that if he didn't succeed in this mission, the consequences would be dire. The Hokage looked determined to see this plan go through. Personally, he couldn't think of something that he'd rather get away from. He knew that Itachi was intensely private and stoic, and the chances of enticing some sort of affection from him for his intended bride were negligible, to say the least. And, although he didn't really know the Hyuuga girl, he was positive that she was excessively shy. Basically, it would be the assignment from hell.

"Are you sure that I'm the right man for the job? There are others who are more suited for such a… romantic operation. I mean, I don't really know, Tsunade-sama. The very idea of mixing the Uchiha and the Hyuuga… those two kids probably grew up hating each other. What on earth are you doing?"

There was a deafening crash, and then a cloud of dust parted to show a leg upraised for a kick, and a full head of very pink hair a top a shinobi's furious face.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura's voice choked, and she seemed to be trying to hold back tears. "What on earth are you _doing_?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

His steps were purposeful, hurried. He strode towards his destination with just one thought in mind, unmindful of all the people around him, bumping into some of them in his haste. So troubled was his mind that he did not even pause to apologize to them, as was the Hyuuga custom.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the umpteenth hit bystander shouted after him, fuming at the audacity of this lowly Branch-house member who dared to barge into the Main House with such a crass attitude. The Branch-house members were supposed to be on their best behavior whenever they entered the main house, and that occasion did not come often for many. Neji, however, was an exception. He had free entry and exit from the main building, and it must be said that he rather abused his welcome, so fond of his sisters was he.

It was one of those sisters towards whom he was hastening towards right now. He was not usually so brazenly rude, but the information that the pink-haired nin who had just challenged his authority at the main gates had given him had been too outrageous to ignore. He had tried to dispatch her by informing her that her quarry – the main assistant of the Hokage, Shizune-san – had already left the Hyuuga grounds for the Hokage's office, that he himself had given her leave to go, but by then, the furious medic-nin had nearly knocked him down in her attempt to enter the Hyuuga compound. After restraining her – and that wasn't an easy job – he had gone through an immense amount of trouble, and finally, frustrated, had shouted "What's the _matter _with you?!"

She had burst into loud, noisy, embarrassing tears. Oh, and then the tale that she had recited…

He quickened his pace.

Reaching his destination – Hinata's room – he did not hesitate for a moment, a rapped sharply on the door. Courtesy demanded that he not disturb her while she was entertaining a guest, and especially a guest as important as Jiraiya-sama, one of the three sannin, but he was too perturbed to give much of a thought to those conventions which he had abandoned somewhere in the past few minutes. His need to see her, to confront her, was too urgent, too necessary.

He could hear the stirrings of a quiet commotion inside, almost a scuffle, and then the door swung open, and Hinata's head, her face flushed with embarrassment, poked out. She seemed surprised to see him. "Nii-san?"

He was so caught up in the moment, so possessed by his need to hear the truth from her own voice, that he didn't even notice that she was dressed in an elegant noblewoman's kimono, one usually worn to entertain either the Hokage or extremely important foreign delegates. He simply allowed the words he had been bottling up to slip through his mouth. "Hinata, are you marrying an Uchiha?"

His sister stared at him for a moment – one long, awful moment – and then burst into tears.

Nonplussed, he gaped at her, astounded by her sudden shift in behavior. Then the awkwardness of the situation struck him, and he began to frantically flap his arms around, unsure of what to do. He had never been confronted by a crying female alone before, and whenever someone had started crying around him, he usually left it to his companions to comfort them. Sympathetic he was not.

"Hinata…" he dithered, arms fluttering around her in the weird approximation of a hug. "… Ah… please don't cry… no, really, please… ah… Hiashi-sama will kill me for sure today…"

She started bawling even harder. "I-I – didn't want you t-to find out this w-way!" she cried, her old stutter returning among the sobs. It was almost gone now, and only made a reappearance when she was extremely nervous or emotionally distressed. It made him feel even worse to hear it come out now, and he dithered even more.

"I-I swear i-it wasn't m-m-my idea, nii-san, I sw-swear! It's the e-elders! They're f-f-f-forcing me!" They were making quite a scene now, causing quite a commotion. He could feel many eyes on him, curious Main House members who had heard the commotion and wondered what it was all about. He felt beads of sweat pop out of his brow.

"The elders?" he said distractedly, too flustered with her incessant crying. "But why on earth would the elders make you marry Uchiha Sasuke, Hinata? He's a cold bastard if I ever saw one, and an _Uchiha _to boot!"

The statement was so unexpected that she actually stopped crying, her tears evaporating on her cheeks, and just stared at him open-mouthed. "Uchiha _Sasuke?_"

Suddenly, the door to her room was thrown wide open, and through the blinding light that seemed to emanate from within – where did all the light come from, anyway? – a stout figure emerged.

"That's quite enough," Jiraiya's voice boomed. "Both of you have said enough. Now come in, before the entire compound hears your conversation."

And with that, he swept them in.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was confused.<p>

It wasn't an emotion often associated with him. He was Uchiha Sasuke, younger son of the famed Uchiha Fugaku, brother to the legendary Uchiha Itachi. He had a reputation to keep.

No, he wasn't usually confused at all. He was used to being sure of himself, to knowing the answers before anyone else did.

Not today, though. In fact, not since he had come back from the mission. His normal life had suddenly turned upside down. He had suddenly come to know that his father was a scheming bastard, the Hokage was a manipulative bitch, and that his beloved mother was spineless.

Oh, and also that his brother was getting married.

To a girl he didn't know.

And a Hyuuga no less. A member of the clan whom they hated and despised with every fiber of their being. Sasuke had been taught on his mother's knee that the Hyuugas were their enemies, that to associate with one of them would be to betray his clan, to spurn his heritage.

And now he would have one of them for his sister-in-law. Cheerio!

Itachi said that she had been in the same class as him, but he obviously didn't remember her. Ino had said (and for quite an exorbitant fee, too) that she _had _been in the same class as them, but that her name was not Hyuuga Hibata, but Hinata.

'In the sun'. The inherent sweetness of the meaning made him scoff. No doubt, this girl would be another Uchiha-brother-satellite, a fangirl of either Itachi or himself. Either he would have to withstand his brother being married off to a swooning fangirl, or else he'd have to fend off the amorous advances of his own sister-in-law. Che.

But that wasn't what he was puzzling him right now. Sasuke had, without really knowing why, decided to pay a visit to this girl, to see what was she like. To do this, he had decided to go to her home: The Hyuuga compound.

The only problem was that: he didn't know where the Hyuuga compound was.

It was such a stupid, such an irrelevant problem. Sasuke was an excellent shinobi, and he made sure to map his surroundings. Having lived in Konoha for his entire life, he knew it like the back of his hand. But he had no idea where the Hyuuga compound was.

The two clans had been enemies for many generations, and he had seen no reason to interact with them except for exchanging the usual snarling exchanges with _their _prodigy, that sissy-girl, Neji. He had expressed no interest in befriending any of the Hyuuga clan members, no interest in getting to know any of them. Because relations between the two clans were so icy, he had never even visited their house as a member of a delegation, because there were no negotiations between the Uchiha and the Hyuuga: it was as simple as that.

So. He had no idea how to get to her place.

He kicked a tree, frustrated by his own shortsightedness. How could be possibly track this girl down without knowing where she lived? And it wasn't as though he could just grab a random passerby and tell them to guide him to the Hyuuga compound – mainly because it was likely that the passerby would either faint or giggle and drape themselves all over him.

Speaking of the civilians, he noticed that there was something odd going around. All of the people surrounding him were ogling him, some even pointing and speaking in hushed tones around him. There was something wrong. He was used to being pointed at and stared at by gushing fangirls, but this time, even the older male shopkeepers were staring at him with an intensity that was disturbing.

Scowling, he decided to ignore them, and made his way through the marketplace, only to be confronted by even more people gawking at them. He tried directing his most impressive frown towards them, but even that failed.

What had _happened_?

Surely… surely they couldn't all know about his brother, could they?

He felt dread well up in his heart. It was bad enough that Itachi had to go through his father's egomaniacal ministrations in the first place… to be constantly hounded by hoi polloi throughout would be unbearable. His brother was an intensely private person, and didn't appreciate his popularity. Even within the Uchiha compound, he went to great lengths to avoid his adoring clan-members, although he could never completely escape them, being the benevolent heir that he had been designed to become. It was only with his family – and that too, only really with Sasuke and Shisui – that he really let go of his indifferent mask and became the person that he really was – cynical, burdened with difficulties and forced responsibilities, always conscious of the Uchiha fan emblazoned onto his back, a cruel reminder of his contorted future.

How could his brother, his hapless, unresponsive brother, be married off to someone he barely knew? Sasuke had always known that his brother would eventually have to marry in order to carry on the family name and position, and also somewhat that it would be arranged. But somehow, he had assumed that Itachi would only marry when he was ready to marry, and to someone whom he knew, and if not loved, at least appreciated. Love didn't come easily to his brother… sometimes, he felt as though Itachi didn't even love his own parents, only Sasuke and Shisui.

But the idea that Itachi would be forced to marry someone outside his clan, and a Hyuuga at that – that Itachi would have to wed a girl who he had never even seen before in his life, who he would have nothing in common with, because he was a star, and this girl was a forgettable wump, was preposterous, inconceivable, impossible.

So caught up was he in his thoughts that he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings, and only noticed at the last moment that the shadow beneath his feet was growing larger and larger, and that a large, orange-clad leg was hurling itself towards his head. He turned around at the last moment, and managed to block the brunt of the kick with his arms, grunting with the impact.

Above him, Naruto's face loomed large. "You bastard!" his teammate shouted, practically frothing at the mouth. "You fucking bastard!"

* * *

><p>They sat on the boughs of a tree, their legs swung over the side, Shisui happily munching an apple, Itachi staring silently. They were comfortable enough with each other that the silence between the two of them was normal, instead of horribly awkward.<p>

Shisui finished his apple and threw it to the ground, watching the core bounce around. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't look at me like that, it's biodegradable!" he said defensively. Itachi sighed despondently, and then went back to staring blankly at their surroundings.

They were seated in the middle of the Nara's prized apple orchard, and were surrounded by trees on every side, laden down with the brightest, juiciest fruits. They were technically trespassing, but neither of them was really bothered with that fact, as they knew that none of the Naras ever really patrolled this area. It had been their childhood playground, the place where they had childishly laughed and played, far away from the village and from the expectant, feverish eyes of Itachi's father.

Shisui was worried. A playful, snide fool though he may seem, Itachi was his best friend, and the announcement of his impending nuptials came as quite a shock to him. Like everyone else, he was furious with Itachi's father for instigating this travesty in the first place, but he knew that Itachi was loyal to a fault, and that he would quietly accept his fate and obey the wishes of his parent and the council. Itachi was never the troublemaker, he would never even dream of disobeying the clan in order to do something selfish like _marrying for love._

For the millionth time, Shisui thanked his stars that he had been born to a completely normal couple instead of the estimable Uchiha Fugaku. The older man held completely unrealistic expectations about his sons, and despite the fact that his elder son was an unparalleled prodigy, tried to press him to become even better, even stronger, even more legendary. Itachi had graduated from the Academy at the age of seven, had become an ANBU captain by the age of thirteen – and none of it was enough for his father. Fugaku was continually disappointed in his son, pressing him even harder, and thus, after having set completely unrealistic benchmarks, was disappointed with Sasuke when the latter could not achieve the same standards that his insanely talented brother could.

But this was too much. Shisui had been mostly silent – well, no, he had been quite _expressively _vocal – about the Uchiha patriarch's policies, but the act of marrying off his elder son for a genetic experiment seemed a bit _too_ cold, even for him. For heaven's sake, this wasn't some one-time mission that they were talking about – Itachi would have to live with this woman for the rest of her life, because, although the concept of separation had reached Konoha, it was still mostly forbidden and frowned-upon, not to mention that Itachi leaving the Hyuuga girl could be construed as another insult against the clan. God forbid that the Hyuuga and the Uchiha have another reason to squabble. It would be the ruin of Konoha.

He decided to broach the topic gently. "Well, Itachi, you gonna marry that chick or what?"

On second thought, he never had been much for subtleties.

Itachi himself had been brooding over that very topic, although his thoughts were in a different vein from his brother's and Shisui's. Although he was not at peace with his father's decision – could anyone in his position be at peace, really? – he knew his father too well to think that the decision would be overturned. If Uchiha Fugaku had decided that his eldest son would be led to the altar, then Itachi would damn well have to walk the aisle next year.

He knew, however, that his brother and his best friend, the two people who really knew him and understood him, and the only two who unconditionally cared for him, would not take this lying down, as he had. Already, he sensed that the two were bracing for a fight. Not wishing to further inflame their passions, he said simply "Can you think of an alternative, Shisui?"

His companion harrumphed. "Fugaku's a bitch, that's what," he spat. His voice was bitter, and his words shocking enough to be construed as gross misconduct, but he knew that Itachi wouldn't mind the insults against his father. The two of them didn't have much of a relationship. "That low-down, good for nothing, opportunistic little ass…"

"It isn't Father I'm worried about," Itachi interrupted. "Or mother", he added, almost as an afterthought. "I'm more concerned about what Sasuke will do. He has a tendency to become rather… reckless. And that has never worked out well for him. I don't want him produced in front of father again; but with the mood that he's in, I'm sure that sooner or later he will be."

Belatedly, Shisui remembered some gossip that he had heard earlier that day. "Speaking of Sasuke, did you hear that he came out of the closet today? The old man's really gonna have a fit when he hears of that, won't he?"

Itachi choked. "He _what_?!"

"Yeah, apparently he sent a bunch of flowers to this dude, with this totally cheesy, romantic, lovesick poem, right in the middle of the marketplace. Cleared out Yamanaka's flower shop, from what I heard. Man, that must've cost a small fortune, wouldn't it?"

"A _poem_? What was he doing in the Yamanaka's flower shop in the first place?"

"Oh, I dunno," Shisui leaned forward and cupped his face in one hand, staring at their surroundings dreamily. "Although I did hear him mutter something about getting to know that girl of yours better, Himata, or whoever. Seeing as they were in the same class – and so was the Yamanaka girl, the one who manages the shop. And she's reputed to have a mouth as big as the city. I know Sasuke knows her; I've seen them together before. He always seemed annoyed out of his mind. But, I guess he went to her to dig out all the gossip 'bout this girl of yours."

"She's not _my girl_," Itachi glared at his friend. Then he sighed, and hopped off the tree nimbly, landing with feline grace on the ground below.

Shisui blinked. "Going somewhere?"

He nodded grimly. "To rescue Sasuke."

* * *

><p>They made a strange trio, the three of them, staring at the strange apparition in front of them, absolutely aghast. Tsunade was the first to move. "Sakura," she said, her voice heavy with disbelief. "What is <em>this<em>?"

But Haruno Sakura only had eyes for one person. Stepping forward dramatically, she faced Shizune, her tear-filled eyes staring at her former helper reproachfully, full of betrayal and hurt. "How could you be party to this, Shizune!" she cried. "How could you – how could you just steal Sasuke away from me like that, just give him away, and to Hinata Hyuuga, too!"

Shizune blinked. "Wait, wha –"

Sakura interrupted brashly. "Don't try to tell me off! I know what's going on, okay? I know that you're trying to – to marry Sasuke off. My only question is, _why_? Why would you assign such a horrible fate to Sasuke?! I'm sure Hinata is a lovely girl, but she doesn't _know _Sasuke, doesn't _love_ him – how can you consign him to such a fate!"

The interns were curious about the commotion now, poking their heads through the hole that used to be a doorway. This was a juicy bit of gossip, and as afraid as they all were of the Hokage, this seemed to be too good to miss.

"You could have chosen _me_!" Sakura's voice broke. "Why _didn't _you choose me? Is it because my parents are civilians? Because we're not the members of some elite, noble clan? Well, you know what? I _love _him! There, I said it! And with my love for him, my knowledge of him, my familiarity with him – I'd be a much better wife for him than she could _ever _be!"

They had quite an audience now. Nearly every person in the Hokage tower was standing in the corridor outside the Hokage's office, straining to hear each and every word.

"And _you, _Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said suddenly, whirling around to face him. He felt beads of sweat pop out on his brow as he saw her enraged face, tears swimming in her eyes. "I can't believe that _you _of all people would do this to Sasuke…!"

Kakashi opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say, and then closed it again. An occurrence that seemed to be increasingly common with him.

"Enough of this nonsense," Tsunade snapped suddenly, unmindful of the crows surrounding them. "Where on earth does everybody get their gossip from in this damn village? For the second and last time today, I'm not marrying Uchiha _Sasuke _to the Hyuuga heiress – I'm marrying off his elder brother, Itachi."

There was absolutely silence for a moment, a moment of horrified awe. Kakashi stared in disbelief at the Hokage as she made the loud proclamation, and then wheeled around to stare at the burgeoning crowd, their mouths wide open, staring with wide-eyed delight at the Hokage as she spouted this big of delicious gossip.

That moment of silence seemed to hang on in the building, seemed to have frozen everything in time.

And then the whispers began.

"Did you hear…"

"… that Uchiha Itachi…"

"… yes, that Uchiha Itachi, the one who's the genius, the one who was made ANBU captain at thirteen…"

"… yes, the heir to his clan…"

"… he's going to be married…"

"… to the Hyuuga heiress!"

* * *

><p>She was the Queen of Whispers, the Mistress of Information. She was blonde and beautiful, deadly, and had a network that spanned across the city, thrumming and thriving as it scurried and swayed all the way back to her, burgeoning with the newest information, the most scandalous gossip, as she smiled sweetly and sold flowers at her parent's shop.<p>

And yet, there was some way in which the newest and most delicious gossip in Konoha hasn't made its way to Yamanaka Ino's inquisitive little ears just yet. It may just have been because the estimable Uchiha Itachi was standing in front of her, staring impassively at her, as though he was looking through her very soul.

Ino fidgeted. She was fond of beauty, and even fonder of seeing it on handsome men of date-able age, but somehow, Uchiha Itachi's obvious splendor discomfited her. Perhaps it was because she was aware of just how out of her reach he was. Beautiful, a genius, and the Heir to the Uchiha clan to boot – it seemed to be a bit too much. On top of that, he was unapproachable, impassive, with a statue-like coldness that only served to supplement, and indeed, increase his popularity. Sasuke, who was still beautiful, and still smart beyond logical belief, snarky, sarcastic, moody Sasuke, was far more approachable. She didn't feel this intimidated when she was with him.

She fidgeted, and finally picked up her scissors and began to trim the plant closest to her. It didn't really need trimming, but she figured that destruction of a plant was better than fainting or going insane when confronted with Uchiha Itachi's gaze. She tried to keep her voice light and carefree. "Uchiha-san, always a pleasure! What can I do for you today? I'm afraid that we don't really have much stock for you to choose from today – as you can see, your brother quite bought us out." She laughed nervously, aware of how squeaky her voice seemed.

A pause. Then Itachi cleared his throat. "I understand that my brother was here earlier today. I wonder if you could tell me where he could be right now? I can't seem to find him."

She felt a stab of annoyance, and whirled around to face him, hands on her hips, her discomfiture momentarily forgotten. "Okay, seriously, what is it with the whole Sasuke-worship today? You're the _second _person I've had coming in and asking about his whereabouts. Just because I sold him flowers doesn't mean that I'm tracking him or anything! And the message wasn't even that bad – he'll get over it. Eventually." She snickered.

Itachi stared at her, astonished by this sudden change in attitude, and more than a little wary. "So he was definitely here today, then?"

She snorted. "Oh yeah, he was here. All inquisitive, too. I mean, it's never like, oh, let's just go visit our old childhood friend Ino because she's awesome and we haven't seen her in a while. Oh _noooo_, there always has to be a motive. They _have _to want something. Blah blah blah – just because I like gossip doesn't mean I know everything, mmkay? And I'm not a walking encyclopaedia, either – I mean, how am I supposed to remember everyone we went to school with? Sasuke's lucky that I've kept in touch with Hinata-chan. I can't believe he doesn't remember her – she _was _the only Hyuuga in our class."

If Itachi had been a husky, his ears would have pricked up. As it was, he merely leaned forward, his eyes fractionally widening. "A Hyuuga in your class. Was… was her name Hyuuga Hibata, by any chance?"

Ino exhaled noisily, annoyed. "No, not Hi_ba_ta, Hi_na_ta! Holy frogs, how hard is that to remember?" She clucked her tongue.

His mind was reeling. He couldn't think of what to say. "And Sasuke was asking about this – this girl, this Hinata?"

Ino huffed in annoyance. "Yeah. I mean, all kinds of stuff. Then I finally got annoyed and told him to either fuck off or to ask me out, and he just asked me where she lived – uh, dude, she's the Hyuuga heiress, _ob_viously she stays at the Hyuuga compound! Stupid guys – and said something about going to see her or something. I wondered about his sudden interest, but, y'know, whatever."

Itachi moved away from the counter, dazed. So Sasuke had gone to visit the Hyuuga Heiress at her own home. He glanced guiltily at the blonde, who was now furiously scrubbing at an ornate glass vase placed on the windowsill. "Ah… thank you very much for this information, Yamanaka-san. I'm sorry I was unable to offer any remuneration," he said as he stared at the blank walls, making his way out of the door.

"Ah, no problem. I got a good haul today, thanks to your… brother…" Ino's mouth slowly dropped as she remembered exactly who she was talking to.

"Ohmygod. Ohmyfuckinggawd. You're Uchiha Itachi. You're Sasuke's brother."

These were lines that Itachi had heard often enough, usually followed by an attack by his (extremely dedicated and focused) fanclub. He began inching out of the door desperately, only offering a noncommittal 'hn' as a response.

"Wait, so you'll know if… well, _ob_viously you'll know, you're his _brother_, greatGamabunta. So, umm, is it true? What I heard today? That Sasuke's engaged to Hinata-chan?"

He paused for a moment, and then felt a great burst of hilarity overcoming him. It was not something he felt often, and he was glad that he was facing the door, away from her inquisitive gaze. Was _that _what the townspeople thought? He knew that the secret would get out eventually, but he was unaware of the fact that it would take such a short while, or that they would substitute his name with that of his… well, his brother's.

He was acutely aware of the fact that the gossip and the whispers that Sasuke would have to face over this new development would be almost unbearable. And so, he did the only thing he could: protect his younger brother.

"No, Sasuke's not engaged to the Hyuuga girl."

He thought he heard the Yamanaka girl sigh; whether with disappointment or relief, he did not know. "Well, that's a piece of leather shit –" she grumbled, until he abruptly interrupted her.

"I am."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

><p>"You have <em>got <em>to be kidding me," Neji exclaimed.

The Hyuuga prodigy was not used to speaking in such crass language, which was why this was fairly unusual for him. When shocked, however, sometimes, the slang that his teammates and friends often used crept into his cultured speech. Which was what was happening right now.

The Hyuuga clan believed in order, neatness, and grace. Even in their fighting style, the Gentle Fist, was based on these basic values – utterly graceful, it neatly disabled the opponent while sustaining minimum damage. As Heiress to the clan, Hinata-sama has been brought up on a diet of these words; she was never less than impeccably present, and her surroundings, too, were orderly to the point of being nearly sterile.

The sight that confronted him right now was _not _typical. Every inch of Hinata's room was covered either with beautiful robes, or ancient-looking scroll. By glancing over the room once, Neji was able to detect several intricate kimonos, a few ordinary yukatas, what looked like a pair of bright red lingerie, and a brightly coloured book with "How to make Pancakes for Dummies!" printed on the cover in nauseatingly bright words.

He shook his head. Now was not the time to get distracted by his cousin's lapse in training. He turned in order to confront Hinata, and his voice died in his throat.

In front of him, the san-nin Jiraiya loomed large, scowling. He was fierce, he was intimidating, and… he was wearing a housewife's kitchen robe.

Neji swallowed twice, trying his very hardest not to burst into high-pitched squeals. Generally, he didn't laugh – he was not the type of person to be amused easily, or to show his amusement, either – and when he did, it was a dignified whinny, a polite, proper laugh. Not the giggles that were threatening to escape him now.

Jiraiya, apparently, saw his eyes stray to his pink apron, and raised an eyebrow. "Something interesting, Hyuuga brat?" The killing intent in his voice was so obvious that the rooms temperature may as well have fallen into the minus degrees.

Hinata flinched. "J-Jiraiya-sama, don't blame him," she said bravely. "I'm sure that Neji-nii-san didn't mean to cause a scene like that – and anyway, it was all my fault in the first place, reacting like that," she added self deprecatingly. "I knew it was bound to come out eventually." And then she began crying again, sobbing hiccups which she desperately tried to keep under quiet control, failing miserably.

Jiraiya's heart melted. He wrapped an arm around Hinata and shot Neji a poisonous look. The genius ninja quailed.

Finally, Jiraiya sighed, and turned to Neji. "Okay, brat. What did you hear?"

He swallowed again, this time not from amusement, but rather out of a premonition that if his answer wasn't to the perverted nin's satisfaction, this might just be the last conversation he would ever have in his life. "Haruno Sakura was here," he began explaining, running his tongue over his chapped lips. "She wanted to see Shizune-san. I informed her that she had already left to go see to the Hokage." He glanced warily at the famed Toad-nin.

Jiraiya harrumphed. "Shizune has more important things to do than sit around and criticize my methods of instruction. She saw that our pupil was quite comfortable under my charge, and that I _was_ sticking to the prescribed syllabus… even if in a somewhat roundabout way… and decided that her talents could be better utilized at the Hokage office as of now."

"Ah, I see… well, I informed Haruno of this fact, and she went completely ballistic. Said something about how she had run all over town in order to find Shizune. Believe it or not, she actually attempted to fight her way through me! What gall!" he realized that he sounded indignant, and toned down the disbelief in his voice.

Jiraiya seemed amused. The older ninja suddenly recalled a combined training session when Tsunade's ward had thrown half a cliff at Naruto, and shuddered slightly at the prospect of another Tsunade making an appearance soon. "I've been told that the members of Team 7 are known to be somewhat… tenacious." He inserted dryly.

"Well, that's when things began to become even stranger than they already her. After I subdued her, I demanded that she explain herself to me. She told me a most extraordinary story… that Hinata-chan, my cousin, and the Heiress to the Hyuuga, was to wed Uchiha Sasuke!"

He turned to his cousin, who was still sniffling a little, but at least not sobbing outright. "Hinata, what on earth is going on? The house is in uproar, there are rumours that you have been replaced with Hanabi, you told me the other day that you got into a scuffle with an _elder_, _and _you have been avoiding all of us, including your teammates. Don't even try to pretend that you haven't – when the Inuzuka came to see you yesterday, you had the servant tell him that you were asleep, when I know very well that you were sitting with Jiraiya-sama and Shizune-san. If you had wanted to, you could have met him for a few minutes – but instead, you chose to be downright rude, and fibbed, on top of it all!

"But more than anything, Hinata, how could you have not told us that you were getting _married_? And to an Uchiha, no less! I didn't even _know _that you were on speaking terms with Uchiha Sasuke, much less that the two of you had something… more… than that. How could you disregard your responsibilities as the Heiress like that? And with an Uchiha, too! Is Hiashi-sama aware of this?" The disapproval in his voice was clear to all present.

Neji was disappointed and confused beyond belief. The idea that his shy, passive cousin, who stuttered and blushed around even her childhood crush, Naruto, could have conducted a relationship in secret with _Uchiha Sasuke_, of all people… that Hinata, who was all of seventeen, and who had been raised to detest all members of the Uchiha clan on principle, would disregard their clan's customs and traditions, and, god forbid, actually become engaged to the worthless ruffian! And moreover, the fact that she had hidden this from all of them… he was surprised that Hiashi had not punished her, or at the very least, confined her to the house… or maybe _that _was why she hadn't left the compound in the past few days. But then what were Shizune and Jiraiya doing here?

Hinata looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment, but the last-minute mention of her father seemed to fill her with some resolve. Looking straight at her cousin, she said: "Neji, it isn't like that at all! Why, this is quite ridiculous!"

"It is indeed," Jiraiya's voice boomed out from behind. "Especially the part about her marrying Sasuke, when in fact, she's marrying his brother, Itachi!"

Neji's mouth dropped. He cartoonishly swiveled from his deathly pale cousin to the senior sannin. He stared accusingly at his sister. "Hinata!" His voice was filled with anger and disbelief and betrayal, and just a little bit of envy.

Okay, so he might be a little jealous of the Uchiha heir's prowess.

Change that to a lot.

"I didn't even know that you knew him!" he exclaimed reproachfully.

Hinata's face twisted. "That's the problem – I _don't _know him! At all!"

She stared at her, incomprehension writ large on his face. What on earth was going on?

"That's enough," Jiraiya's voice cut through the tension like a whip. He had suddenly become aware of the fact that at this rate, the conversation between the two Hyuugas would never end, and he still had to teach Hinata about the various functions and uses of garter belts before the day ended.

"The reason why Hinata's father, your uncle, is unperturbed by Hinata's engagement, is because he orchestrated it."

Neji's mouth gaped upon hearing this new piece of information. He quite resembled a fish, Jiraiya observed, with his mouth opening and closing like that. The exact likeness of a freshwater trout.

"No, don't interrupt me – you two have wasted quite enough time with your dallying and dallying already. You can speak after I'm done. The fact of the matter is, that your uncle, Hyuuga Hiashi, and Uchiha Fugaku, drafted an agreement a few years ago – a contract that basically said that their son and your house's daughter were to be in wed in holy matrimony, for the greater good of the nation."

"Wait… he just, he – _signed _away Hinata like that?"

"No, not really," Hinata's quiet voice piped in. "You see, the original Hyuuga girl mentioned in the contract is actually Hanabi."

The world seemed to slip out beneath his feet. The very idea… "Are you telling me that _Hanabi _is to be married to _Uchiha Itachi_?!"

"Not anymore," said Hinata, staring determinedly at her feet.

"The terms of the contract were altered," Jiraiya interrupted. "By Hyuuga Hiashi. He insisted that the Hyuuga girl in question be exempted, and that she be replaced by someone else…"

It couldn't be. Surely, Hiashi wouldn't do this to his own daughters…

"Me," Hinata softly completed the sentence. "Father thought that I would be better suited for the terms of the contract."

"But… that's impossible! How on earth can he do that? You're the Heiress, for Christ's sake!"

"He thought that perhaps Hanabi would be better suited for the job than I am… I am to give up the seat to her in three weeks' time. She shall be officially declared as the new Heir. For the time being, I have been stripped of my status." She steadily avoided his gaze.

Jiraiya gazed at her sadly. Even though he barely knew the little Hyuuga, the feeling of rejection, of not being considered good enough, was familiar to him. He had experienced it often enough when he was a child, training with the exception Tsunade and the prodigy Orochimaru. The idea that a father would so obviously show his preference for one child over the other, and be willing to basically sell the other away… it was shameful. He felt guilty for even being a part of the experiment, but it had been an assignment from Tsunade, and he couldn't refuse her.

Not if he wanted to live a long life with both testicles firmly attached to his body, anyway.

"I'm to be married to Uchiha-san next year," Hinata continued carefully. "That's why Jiraiya-sama and Shizune-sama have been visiting so often; they've been prepping me for my new duties. It's quite a task, isn't it?" she let out a breathless little laugh. "The elders have already told me that my wedding will the event of the century – any girl's dream, with any girl's dream bridegroom. Lucky me." Unnoticed by her, two teardrops gently splashed out, and rolled down her cheeks.

Neji stared at her, horrified and appalled by what he had just heard. Reeling from the shock, he sat down heavily on an embroidered kimono, unmindful of his surroundings.

Ever since he had been a child, his uncle had appeared excessively cold and punishing to him. Originally assigning the man the title of a man too cowardly to die in battle, and instead send his brother to do the same, his relationship with his uncle had thawed somewhat since the fateful chuunin exams five years ago, when he had proved himself, and risen in Hiashi's estimation. Since then, he and his uncle had shared an amicable, if not outright friendly relationship. He could have said, in fact, that he was the closest thing Hiashi had ever had to a son.

And yet, despite his comfortable relationship with his uncle, he couldn't help but feel awkward every time he saw how Hiashi treated his daughters. Though he prized Hanabi, thinking her a valuable fighter, and treating her as his favourite, his demand on the younger Hyuuga's body were too strenuous, and many a times, he had seen Hanabi fall unconscious because of excessive time spent training with her father.

His attitude towards Hinata was ever worse. Hiashi had long ago deemed his elder daughter worthless, and treated her as such. Ever since he had virtually surrendered all authority of training her to Kurenai, he had seemed mostly disinterested in her, or worse, disappointed. He knew how hard his cousin trained in order to please his father, and Hiashi's casual indifference towards her made Neji's blood boil. As hard as Gai had trained them, as much as he had always expected of them, he had never treated them with such a casual attitude. In fact, the jounin had always been there for his wards, almost excessively so. Even when Neji was going through his darkest moments, even the sheer knowledge and awareness of the burning green curse seal on his forehead made him want to simply _break _from exhaustion, to let go of Hyuuga propriety and simply _avenge _the injustice that had been done to him – he knew that Gai was always there, ready to hold him back, to console him, to teach him, to _be there _for him.

Hiashi had no such compunctions. The clan leader had been raised a true Hyuuga, trained in the style of the clan, taught to always remember that he was above everyone else. Possessing an amazing talent himself, he was always on the lookout for others who possessed the same genius which had left traces in his aging body. Hanabi's slight inclination, and Neji's obvious power, enthralled him… but Hinata's mediocrity shamed him, and he felt almost reluctant to even call her by her rightful name, as his 'daughter'.

Regardless of this, Neji had continued to respect his clan leader out of some medieval sense of loyalty. He was, after all, a vassal of Hyuuga Hiashi… and even when he had blamed the man for murdering his father, his sense of obligation towards his uncle had never quite faded away. There had been times when he had hated his uncle, and certainly times when he wished that he could exchange his uncle's life for his father's… but somehow, he had never doubted the man's leadership skills, or the very truth of his words and deeds. The principles that Hyuuga Hiashi followed in his life – that of duty and honour, and especially that of tradition – echoed in Neji's own beliefs, and thus, he was never truly able to disassociate himself from his uncle.

Even after that memorable fight with Naruto in the chuunin exams when he was thirteen… the hyperactive blond shinobi had beaten him senseless, and he might as well have smashed a hole through Neji's skull and imparted his own wisdom and philosophy of life to him. Neji had been vindictive, then, and quite vicious – he lived his life in resentment of the Hyuuga. Adding to the perceived knowledge of his father's death, the fact that he, a clear genius, was not to be trained by the finest martial masters that the Hyuuga had to offer, simply because he was a Branch House member… well, it was just adding insult to injury. Seething with rage, he had redirected his frustration and anger towards his younger cousin, Hinata, during the preliminary stages of the chuunin exams, and he had let all the anger that he felt towards the Main House burst out of him that fateful day.

And he had nearly killed her.

It was only after Naruto had beaten him senseless, only after he had come to know the true circumstances surrounding his father's sacrifice, had Neji truly begun to thaw a little. And with that, he had simultaneously grown closer to and farther away from Hiashi. While his uncle was now truly behaving like an uncle, and while he had arranged for only the best tutors – including himself – to tutor his nephew, Hiashi's philosophy – that age-old spiel about family and honour and destiny – had begun to conflict with Neji's own new thoughts. The latter no longer believed in the words that the Hyuuga preached. But still, his relationship with his uncle grew to a new level, and his new-found closeness to Hiashi promoted his respect for the elder man.

It was not until now, until this very moment, when he found that he truly disdained Hiashi, and let go of his influence. For what kind of man pledged away his own infant daughter to a son of a rival clan? What kind of man treated his daughter as though she was worth nothing more than a sack of potatoes? What kind of man forced his daughter to marry another man, especially one she did not know, and when she had been bred to hate him?


	6. Chapter 6

He felt as though it was raining blows. Dodging expertly, he swiftly dismissed all of Naruto's shadow clones, before reaching his blond teammate. "You fucking bastard!"

Sasuke blinked, and then rapidly bent to the right in order to avoid Naruto's wildly-flailing fists. "As you very well know, dobe, I have full knowledge of who my father is… and he _is _married to my mother. Now, will you please stop acting like a - "

Whatever he had to say was abruptly cut off as Naruto's orange-clad leg flew out of nowhere, and Sasuke watched as though in slow motion, filled with horror, as it approached his nose…

_**THUMP!**_

"You fucker!" a voice wailed – yes, w_ailed_ – above the sound of the surrounding civilians. The citizens of Konoha gaped at the scene. "Fucking hell, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Naruto let out an indignant squawk. He had stopped his vicious advance, but it was clear that he still simmered inside. "What the fuck is wrong with _me?_ I should be asking you that! Why the fuck are you sending me flowers, you idiot! Especially with that stupid poem! And _especially _in the middle of the fucking market! What is wrong with you? Everyone thinks that we're _dating _now! What if news of this… this… this _thing _gets back to Sakura-chan? She'll… she'll…" Naruto's face paled as he thought of Sakura's possiblereactions to the events of the morning. "Good god, she'll kill me!"

"Nice to know that you're scared of a harmless medic, Naruto," a voice sneered from behind. Naruto whirled, his hands clenched into fists, and mouth wide open in a snarl. The expression on his face was so furious that Kiba – who had spoken – did a double-take.

"Whoa, there," he said, sounding a bit worried. "I didn't mean it seriously… I mean, obviously man, anyone would be scared of Sakura…" Kiba grinned shiftily.

Naruto relaxed a little. "Boy, you have _no _idea. Sakura-chan's anger…" he shuddered, distinctly glad that all of his body parts were safely attached to his body… for now.

The two shinobi in front of him winced a little, having seen the pink-haired shinobi in her full angry glory. Kiba looked slightly queasy, while Shino simply looked impassive, but it seemed as though any semblance of colour had faded from his normally pale face – he looked bone white. Sasuke frowned, but he was unable to place them properly. Then something clicked, and he looked up to the quieter of the two shinobi with newfound recognition in his eyes.

"You're the Aburame heir, aren't you? I remember you from the Annual Great Clan Meet…"

Shino inclined his head in some semblance of a nod, while Kiba gaped openly. "Oi, whaddaya mean he's the 'Aburame'? Don't tell me you've forgotten his _name!"_

Sasuke turned to the Aburame's companion, frowning slightly. He distinctly remembered this boy from their time in Iruka's class, but for some reason, he simply could not place his face…

"Don't tell me you've forgotten _my _name now, you little pansy…!"

Naruto had to physically restrain Kiba from launching an attack against the younger Uchiha son. "Calm down, Kiba, he's really… well, he's just really bad at this. He's never been able to remember anyone's name. I bet he doesn't know Hinata-chan's name, either!"

_That _got his attention. How many women did he know who were named Hinata? It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Do… ah, Aburame-san, by any chance, are you talking about Hyuuga Hinata…?"

Shino maintained his facial expression, but Sasuke thought his eyes might have gleamed behind those dark sunglasses. There was no way to know for sure. Kiba, however, turned upon Sasuke with a suspicious glare. "Maybe. What's it matter to you?"

He blinked at them. "Do you know where she lives?" his voice and manner had abruptly changed into something matter-of-fact.

Kiba's suspicious glare intensified, but before he could get a word in edgewise, Naruto broke in. "She lives in the Hyuuga compound, obviously, teme! Great Gamabunta, I can't believe you didn't see that."

Sasuke felt his eye throb as he contemplated bonking the idiot on his head. It would only lead to more conflict, and waste more time, and time was something which wasn't on his side right now. "Yes, dobe," he bit out through gritted teeth. "_Obviously _a Hyuuga would live at the Hyuuga compound… but I was asking your _dear friends_ if they could tell me where the _fucking compound is?_"

Naruto was about to retort, when – of all people – Shino beat him to it. "We could… if you tell us what your business with our teammate is." He tilted his head, inscrutable as ever behind his jacket and glasses.

Shino wasn't stupid. He had noticed – and discussed – this new change in Hinata, who had retreated deeper into herself than she had in the past few years. Combined with her odd behavior – skipping training sessions, pretending to be asleep when he and Kiba visited the Hyuuga compound – this deviation from normalcy had been enough to concern the Aburame heir quite a bit. Now, here was a truant Uchiha, wandering around and searching for his teammate. Shino may not have been the most politically gifted person, but, being a member of one of the Four Noble Clans, he knew well enough that the Uchiha and the Hyuuga were on less than friendly terms. Indeed, even the most clueless civilian was aware of the bad blood between the two clans. For an Uchiha to be searching for Hinata… it was quite strange, to say the least.

Sasuke snorted. "Of course. Your teammate." He sighed, fully aware that it would not be wasy to divulge the information from the two shinobi standing in front of him. Being part of a team, even one with such differences between them, he could somewhat empathize with their overprotectiveness over a strange shinobi showing up and asking for their friend. However, if she really was a member of their team, then there was no doubt that she had told her teammates about her upcoming nuptials. Therefore, it would be easier for them to understand why he was seeking her out. He would just need to fib a little.

"I would like to meet Hinata-san," he worded his request carefully, fully aware that any casual insult against that infuriating, insipid girl, could be incite her two team-members. "in order to get to know her better. After all, we _are_ eventually going to live in extremely close quarters, once she marries Itachi next year."

A moment of silence. Only the chirping of the birds could be heard. And then a collective "_**WHAT?!**_"

Sasuke blinked, suddenly uncomfortably aware of their shocked faces. Naruto's mouth gaped open, attracting flies; Kiba's teeth were gritted, and he glared at Sasuke with alarming intensity, grinding his teeth. Even impassive Shino's eyebrows were furrowed. A feeling of foreboding rose in him. "Surely you know… about the Hokage's plan... marrying my brother off to this bloody Hyuuga girl…"

That was not the right thing to say. Kiba looked furious. "What the _fuck _are you talking about, Uchiha?!"

Sasuke stared at him incredulously. "Do you mean to tell me that you're not aware of the fact that your teammate is betrothed to my brother? They're getting married next year, you dipshit."

"Of course," Shino breathed, a look of enlightenment spreading over his face. "That explains everything…"

"Oh hell no, it bloody doesn't!" Kiba growled. "What the fuck do you mean by that, Uchiha! Hinata-chan would _never _marry your sodden prick of a brother…"

Naruto yelped, and jumped to restrain Sasuke as he lunged for the Inuzuka. He knew exactly how volatile Sasuke could be when provoked about his elder brother. "Sasuke, no, don't, it isn't worth it! Forget about it, man!"

Sasuke shook the blond shinobi off, turning around to walk away. Hot red rage filled his vision, and he felt like strangling that stupid ignorant prick of an Inuzuke. "You," his voice was practically a growl. "Know _nothing_ about my brother. _Nothing, _you hear me? Don't you _ever _fucking dare to talk about him that way again!" The sense of fury that had risen in him the moment he had heard Kiba's condescension… how dare they talk like that about Itachi, when they didn't know him! They had no right to mock a man who was a thousand times better than them, both on the battlefield and off it.

He shook his head angrily. This day had been a complete failure. Squinting into the sun, he became to stomp back to the Uchiha compound.

* * *

><p>The sun was setting when he finally reached the Hyuuga compound. He noted absent-mindedly that it was a rather beautiful evening. The sky had a faint purple hue, and brilliant orange-and-pink clouds drifted across the horizon, accentuated by the dying rays of the sun. The picture was completed by the presence of the Hyuuga compound, which seemed to have somehow softened against the pale sunset. The insects hummed around him, and birds chirped amongst the gently rustling trees, and for a moment, he felt glad to simply be <em>alive.<em>

The Hyuuga compound was not built like the Uchiha area. While the Uchiha compound was flat and sprawling, with many entrances and no manposts, the Uchiha compound was built like a fortress. Itachi could see just one entrance, and even that had what appeared to be a guard standing in front of it. The whole compound was surrounded by high walls, and the structure itself had a cold feeling to it. Painted a cold off-white, it was designed in the traditional Japanese manner, and while the architecture was superb, it seemed to be built for impressiveness and not for comfort. The entire place reeked hostility and standoffishness.

He slowly approached the gate, noting the small figure who sat garbed in Hyuuga garb in front of it. The person he had taken for a guard was really no older than a child, but she scowled at him as though she was trying to provoke him. "Uchiha," her voice leaked disdain. "What are you doing here?"

Evidently, she had recognized the stylized fan embroidered onto his clothes. He briefly wondered if she thought that he had come to present a challenge to the Hyuuga clan. "I would like an audience with a member of the Main Family," he said, his voice carefully controlled, but not dismissive. He was well aware of how touchy the white-eyed ones could be.

The child in front of him had evidently not expected this answer, for her mouth gaped open. That small, detached part of him that had no connection with his very real surroundings wondered if it really was possible for flies to wander in through the open, succulent pink hole, and then dismissed the idea. He stared down at his small opponent, meeting her gaze with his own emotionless one.

She broke eye contact first. "You've gotta be kidding me!" she exclaimed. "You can't just walk in here and demand a conference with someone from the Main House –"

"Hanabi!" a voice exclaimed, and the scarecrow in front of him – Hanabi, evidently – jumped and cursed, glancing warily behind her shoulder at a dark-haired woman approaching them. "What are you doing at the gates! You know you're not authorized to guard them!"

Hanabi scowled, automatically becoming pouty. "I thought I'd help out, that's all. Ginta wanted to go meet his girlfriend, and, _nee-san, _you _know _I'm qualified… I can handle all the dipshits who come through here on my own, whether they're travelling salesmen or wandering Uchihas."

Hinata – for that's who it was – reached them, her midnight-blue yukata billowing around her, and, upon hearing Hanabi's spiel, automatically looked up to see who this mysterious visitor was.

And got the shock of her life upon seeing the face of her fiancé staring back at her.

"U-U-Uchiha-san!" she gasped, feeling as though she was about to faint. She recognized him immediately – those features, which she had tried so hard to recollect, were suddenly in front of her eyes, sharply in focus. She gulped, flabbergasted. "M-may I help you?"

Itachi directed all of his attention upon the newcomer, who seemed more intimidated than the younger brat was. "Yes," he said simply. "I would like to meet with a Main House member."

"I've already told you that you can't just do that –" Hanabi angrily broke in, when Hinata interrupted.

"That's quite enough, Hanabi, I don't want to hear any more from you." At her younger sister's incredulous look, she frowned slightly. "Go back to your rooms immediately. No," she continued, interrupting what would have undoubtedly been an outraged protest. "I don't want to hear anything else." Directing her attention back to Itachi, "U-Uchiha-san, if you'd just come along with me, I could lead you to Fa – er, Hiashi-sama." She bit her lip.

Itachi regarded her impassively. She seemed flushed and flustered, and under his gaze, she squirmed uncomfortably in that pale blue yukata, but overall, she seemed sincere and determined. "Arigatou, Hyuuga-san." He maed a motion as if to follow her.

She flushed an even deeper shade of red, something that he would not have thought possible, and turned to lead him. Itachi maintained a safe distance. Her obvious discomposure suggested that she was unnerved by his presence, and while it may have just been the fact that he was an Uchiha on her territory, he couldn't take the risk of disregarding the alternative – that she was a fangirl, in which case he had best remain on full guard.

Hinata felt as though she was going to melt through the floor, and not in a good way. The weight of Itachi's glare lay heavy on the back of her neck – damnably exposed, since Jiraiya had tried to teach her the different styles of doing up your hair a while ago. She felt miserable. What on earth was he doing here? Had he come here to see her? In that case… why wasn't he saying anything? The constant nervous anticipation made her jittery.

Itachi, meanwhile, frowned at the back of her head. Something was different about this one. Somehow, her physical appearance was subtly different from that of the other clanmembers whom they passed on their way. The differenced must be very slight, for he could not quite put his finger on it, and this inabilitiy left him slightly unnerved.

They reached the end of what seemed to be the umpteenth hallway, and she slid open the door to a room which seemed to be a small, elegantly-decorated sitting room. She ushered him inside politely. "If you could just wait here until I summon Hiashi-sama…"

He nodded his acquiescence, and then settled down to observe the elegant furnishings. The quality of the material was obviously quite high, but they rather looked like they were infrequently used. Even though the room was clean to the point of appearing to be an advertisement for a cleaning agent, the room still appeared to be mostly in disuse. He swept his eyes over the decorations, stopping when his eyes came across a small scroll stuck to the wall. Written there, in beautiful calligraphy, was a single word: "Determination."

He stepped across to it. Although he wasn't well aware of the intricacies of calligraphy, it was clear that the word in front had been inscribed by a rather talented amateur. The lines were beautiful; strong, and elegant, and surprisingly warm.

* * *

><p>Hinata hastily shut the sliding door behind her, gasping and feeling panic well up in her chest. All through the rather long journey, he had not spoken a single word to her, but she had felt the heavy weight of his gaze trained on her back. What was going on? She had received no prior intimation of his visit, no sort of warning whatsoever. He – he couldn't have just dropped in, could he? People of their stature didn't just drop in, they made long announcements and informed their hosts well in advance.<p>

And yet… it had seemed like he didn't even know who she was. Was it possible? Was he even aware of the strange situation into which he had abruptly been thrust? It didn't seem like he couldn't be. There could be no other reason for his strange and abrupt visit to the Hyuuga compound, a destination usually avoided like the plague by anyone with a claim on Uchiha ancestry. If there had been a mission, he would have come decked in battle gear; but he was in civilian clothes.

And yet, there was a chance…

Hinata was, for lack of a better phrase, invisible in Konoha. Despite being the (now ex) heiress of a very prominent and prestigious clan, her own unremarkable nature had contributed into turning her into a virtual nobody. Many recognized the distinctive Hyuuga eyes that she claimed as her birthright, but few knew of her status or true position within the clan itself. It was entirely possible, then, that Uchiha Itachi had never quite known who Hyuuga Hinata was. She, after all, was not a famous genius like him…

In that case… in that case, the entire situation changed. If he had not really come to observe her, then he wouldn't pay much attention to her. She was off the hook.

But at the same time, he w_as _sitting inside the Hyuuga compound. It was her duty, as a member of the Hyuuga clan, to be hospitable towards any and all visitors, and to uphold the reputation of the Hyuuga clan. She had to take care of her unexpected guest.

Besides… maybe it was time to practice some of what Jiraiya and Shizune had been teaching her.

She straightened herself and obediently trotted down the hallway, searching for her father.

* * *

><p>Itachi was distracted from his perusal of the hauntingly beautiful calligraphy hung on the wall by the sliding door suddenly opening. Turning, he expected to be confronted with the strict contours of the Hyuuga leader's face, but instead came upon someone quite unexpected.<p>

Jiraiya gaped at the Uchiha heir standing in front of him. "Okay, seriously, what is it with people popping out of nowhere today!"

Itachi blinked, confused. "Wha –" he began to articulate, when he was interrupted.

Jiraiya sighed heavily. "Nevermind. What are you doing here, lad?" He eyed Itachi suspiciously.

The latter felt a twinge of irritation. Granted, it was quite unusual to stumble across an Uchiha when on the Hyuuga grounds, but still, that was no reason for this careful calculating inspection that he had had to endure from several members of the Hyuuga clan since he had stepped onto their property. He _was _marrying into the family, after all. "I'm here to meet with Hyuuga Hiashi," he replied formally, doing his best to meet Jiraiya's gaze.

Jiraiya's suspicion intensified. "Hiashi? Did ya dad send ya?"

"No," Itachi replied quickly. A little too quickly. "I mean… I felt that it would perhaps be beneficial if I were to become acquainted with the Hyuuga family, due to… extenuating circumstances."

Jiraiya sighed heavily. "You mean the fact that you're getting wed to Hiashi's daughter? Oh, don't look at me like that –" he let out a heavy burst of laughter at seeing Itachi's frozen expression. "I _am _friends with Slug-Tsunade, ya know? Even if she doesn't treat me as such." He sighed heavily once again, all traces of mirth disappearing. "I woulda thought that you'd be here to meet with the girl," he said softly.

Itachi felt the words rain on him as blows might. "That would be highly inappropriate," he said stiffly. "Given the fact that our clans have yet to decide on when we are to meet. No, I merely wished to seek an audience with Hyuuga-san."

Jiraiya nodded a bit wearily. "Of course. Of course that's why you'd…" he trailed off, mumbling incoherently for a moment.

Itachi seized the opportunity to ask a question that he had hitherto forgotten. "Jiraiya-sama," he began formally. "Have you by any chance seen my brother here? Sasuke?"

Jiraiya's eyes snapped open. "Your brother? Sasuke?"

Itachi nodded slowly. "He was – he _is _Uzumaki Naruto's teammate. I was wondering, have you come across him here today? I had heard that he was making his way over here…"

Jiraiya grinned. "Sasuke! Who _doesn't _know him. That little shit," he added affectionately. "Always buzzing around Naruto. But that's how they motivate themselves, y'know?" he said suddenly, in a confidential tone.

Itachi found himself to be more than a little intimidated. Courtesy be damned, he was going to stick to his guns on this topic. "Yes, I'm well aware of that fact. I was wondering if he had come here today…?"

Jiraiya abruptly straightened up. "Nope. And I'm pretty damn sure about that, laddie. I know all that's going on around here, if ya know what I mean," he winked exaggeratedly at his younger compatriot. "Trust me, if your brother had been here today, I'd have known about it. An Uchiha wandering about does count as news in here, ya know."

Itachi sighed, disappointed. Somehow, he had sensed this very fact the moment he had spied the gate; and yet, he had still come in. Why had he come up with his pathetic excuse, anyway? He could have simply asked the guard, and upon receiving the answer in the negative, have gone about on his way.

Sometimes, Itachi didn't understand his own actions.

"Well, I guess I'll just stay here and wait for Hyuuga-san, then," he said morosely.

"You do that," Jiraiya agreed, and he gave the younger man a hearty pat on his shoulder. "Well, good luck with that!" he said briskly, and then, all of a sudden, he was gone.

Itachi sank back to his seat, unnerved by the unexpected meeting with one of the sannin and by the topic of their conversation. He had almost managed to make himself forget for a moment… it had almost slipped his mind that the woman he was engaged to was residing in this very house at the moment. It was strange… since he had suddenly found himself engaged, he had not spared much thought for his fiancée. Sure, he had looked at her through his own context, but never had he actually wondered what she was like. Was she a shinobi? If she was to be the future Head of the clan, there was no doubt that she would be trained in the shinobi arts. Moreover, she _had _been in Sasuke's class in the Academy… but that meant nothing. Only nine people had passed from Sasuke's class; the chances of her failing were high.

He could not shake the uncomfortable feeling that she might be unbearable. She had, after all, been raised as a veritable princess, and expected to be treated as such. What if her views on life were very different from Itachi's? What if the things that she wanted, nay, _expected_, were very removed from what Itachi wanted? For the very first time, Itachi realized that he was to be wed to someone who truly was a complete stranger to him. He had never laid eyes on this woman, never talked to her: he did not know her likes and dislikes, was unaware of how she liked to live. He had no idea how they were supposed to coexist together when they did not know each other.

Dimly, he remembered Fugaku mentioning something about how he was expected to meet his intended a few times a week, under heavy supervision, of course. The idea made him wince. He was not good at meeting new people, and undoubtedly, the conversation would be made even more awkward by the fact that they would likely have an old and strict Uchiha or Hyuuga matriarch standing guard over them. He could not imagine it; the thought of it horrified him.

The door slid open once again, and he looked up, startled. He had been so consumed with his own thoughts that he had once again failed to pay attention to his surroundings. Chiding himself internally, he was slightly surprised to see this new visitor was no one other than his initial hostess, and that she came bearing a tray laden with tea and what looked to be home-made snacks.

He raised his eyebrow a little, almost imperceptibly, but she seemed to sense it. Resting the tray on the low wooden table in front of them, she sat down in front of him and deftly offered him a cup of steaming green tea. He accepted it graciously, still staring at her.

"Hiashi-sama is currently in the midst of a meeting with the elders," she clarified. "He shall be here as soon as the meeting ends. Until then, I'm afraid, you'll just have to endure my company. I hope you don't mind." She smiled timidly.

And Itachi found, to his surprise, that he didn't mind at all.

The conversation flowed freely. They discussed the current state of Konoha, how it seemed that the fighting had lulled around them and that Konoha was finally at peace – both acknowledged that it could not last. He learned, with some surprise, that she was a shinobi – while the calloused state of her hands indicted wear and tear, her otherwise unblemished skin had not indicated that fact. She informed him that she was a chuunin, and then blushed slightly, exclaiming "Of course, it's nothing – nothing compared to being an ANBU member, but somehow, I think it's serving the village in its own way, don't you think?"

He found her company to be quite pleasant. She was as quiet as he was, and sometimes the silence between them stretched long, but it was never awkward. Her stuttering her disappeared, and her voice had lost its timid and tremulous quality. She treated him like an equal, quietly asking about his family and his duties and what he thought about the current proposals put forward by the Hokage.

He was struck by her grace. He had always known that the Hyuuga greatly believed in the art of physical beauty, as was exemplified by their cold and beautiful building, but he had expected them to be static and solid. The woman in front of him was anything but that, and her grace was not frozen or acquired, but rather warm and liquid. She was evidently knowledgeable about many of the things that they had discussed, but at the same time, she didn't seem overtly proud of this knowledge, and of the fact that she was Hyuuga. She had inadvertently disproved many of the myths that he had harboured about the Hyuuga.

He was, therefore, surprised to find himself somewhat disappointed when the door opened to admit the head of the Hyuuga clan, and his companion quietly slipped out.

* * *

><p>Hinata leaned against the hallway, her hand pressed into her mouth. She had just spent the past half hour in the company of the man who she was one day to be wed to, the Pride of Konoha, Uchiha Itachi.<p>

He hadn't killed her.

He hadn't maimed her.

He hadn't left her horribly crippled for life.

He had been quite nice, actually.

She didn't know what she had expected – she knew that the man was supposed to be a genius, of course. However, to find that he was not only very knowledgeable about many things, but also that he was also polite and dignified, and that he didn't seem to throw his status around… well, that had been a surprise.

She didn't know what to think at this moment. She was certainly not _pleased _that she was being forced to marry someone against her will. However… and there was a definite however… she found that she felt somewhat relieved. Relieved that her husband-to-be wasn't a complete prat who thought that the world ought to bow at his feet. Relieved that he didn't seem to resemble (mentally, not physically – in the latter respect, they may as well have been twins) his younger brother's pomposity at all. Relieved that he didn't seem to be a murderous psychopath, and definitely relieved that he seemed to be capable to hold his own end of a conversation.

Of course, he had no idea of who she really was.

Laughing quietly to herself, she made her way down the hall.

* * *

><p>The first thing that struck Itachi was of his future-father-in-law's resemblance to his father. It wasn't just physical, for the two clans, while originally allegedly originating from the same genome, had been separate long enough in order to have completely different facial characteristic. Hiashi, with his cold white eyes and pale skin, looked nothing like Fugaku, who had shorter hair and tanned skin. And yet, at the same time, both men held themselves with that same self-righteousness, that same sense of importance that so characterized them.<p>

_Maybe I wasn't so off the mark with my original assessment after all_, he wondered, and thought with a pang of his former companion. She, after all, had at least been pleasant company…

Hiashi was saying something. "Uchiha-san. What a pleasant surprise." His tone was quite at odds with the suspicious tone of his voice.

Itachi fought to control himself. "Yes," he said neutrally. "I felt that it was perhaps advisable to pay a visit to the Hyuuga compound, given our impending relations."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow expertly, and said in a voice containing just a tinge of incredulity "I'm afraid that I wasn't quite prepared for this visit. Am I to have the honour of also receiving your parents, Itachi-san?"

He noted with a bristling irritation that Hiashi had dropped the more distant 'Uchiha' for the familiar 'Itachi', and felt a stab of anger. Having just met the Uchiha prodigy for the first time, the Hyuuga head had no business conversing in such a familiar manner with him. "I'm afraid that my visit was quite… unplanned," he bit out. "I had not realized that my presence here would cause such trouble."

Was it just him, or did it seem as though Hiash's cheeks had coloured just a little. The elder man took a deep breath before replying. "I can assure you that it is no trouble at all. I will appreciate whatever opportunity I get to acquaint myself with my son-in-law. We are to be family, after all." He smiled, a cold smile that reached nowhere near his eyes. "I'm sorry to inform you, however, that I will be unable to introduce you to your fiancée today… tradition must be observed…"

"Of course," Itachi replied automatically. He had not come here to catch a glimpse of the woman he was about to marry in the first place, and strangely, he found that he had no inclination to do so as of the moment. "I fully understand."

"Yes, well," Hiashi suddenly became all business. "As you know, an engagement ceremony must be held. Now, the Honourable Hokage –" it was clear from his tone that he could have used a less flattering word " – insists that you and your fiancée are to meet before the engagement. Therefore, and this I'm sure your father has told you, I have proposed that the two of you meet a few times a week – under strict supervision, of course. I believe that the Hokage had already chosen an appropriate man for the job…"

He had not said anything. The mention of an engagement ceremony once again brought into sharp relief the reality of the situation. He could not help but acknowledge it, the looming dark mass that his future had become. Making an effort, he continued to listen to Hiashi's rambling speech.

"… and that's why, of course, you realize why the ceremony must take place soon… it would be quite unseemly to keep it waiting. Of course," and here Hiashi looked shrewdly at the Uchiha heir. "You'll inform your father about this, right, Itachi-san."

Itachi felt a wave of disgust sweep through him. Here he was, sitting in the Hyuuga compound, in the house of someone who was supposed to be their sworn enemy, and all he could think of was the fact that the family who was supposed to be their diametric opposite seemed to be damningly similar. He could glean and recognize many similarities between Fugaku and Hiashi's personalities. Both dominating, domineering men, who believed themselves to be extremely clever, and both always looking for an opportunity to show their own power.

He wondered if Hiashi too had bullied his own child, and felt sick.

He stood up suddenly, nearly upsetting the small wooden table. "Hiashi-san," he announced formally, carefully choosing the common suffix '–san' as compared to the respectful '–sama'. He did not want to give this man any ideas. "Thank you for a lovely evening, but I'm afraid that I really must be on my way now. Father will be quite worried," he added, just a little bit of spite in his voice.

Hiashi's eyes were shuttered as he gazed upon the Uchiha prodigy. If he was insulted by the abrupt manner in which Itachi had chosen to announce his departure, he didn't show it. "So be it," he said in a soft, deadly voice. "I'm sorry that we were not able to converse for a longer period of time, Itachi-_san_," his words were casually dismissive. "But I will not concern myself with it, given all the time that we _do _have." And here, he looked pointedly at the ANBU captain.

Itachi felt nausea roll over him. Nodding tersely, he swiftly stepped outside the room –

– and nearly crashed into his previous companion, who had been approaching the room with what looked like a new pot of tea on her tray.

"I'm so sorry!" his companion gasped, blushing to the very roots of her blue-black hair. "I didn't realize that – oh!" she said dazedly as she saw Itachi move away towards the other end of the corridor. "Are you leaving, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi nodded absently. "Thank you for your kindness, Hyuuga-san," he said quietly. "I'll show myself out."

"Oh – ah – it was nothing, really," she replied, flustered. "I – I'll walk with you," she said impulsively.

And so they silently moved along the corridors, Itachi silently contemplative, and Hinata unnerved and confused, stealing glances at the figure half-shrouded .

They stopped at the open entrance of the Main House, and Itachi turned to her. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Hinata fiddled with her fingers. "Ah – it really was nothing… please be careful, now! You know that the crime rates have been rising… but of course, you're ANBU." She laughed weakly, her voice a little wobbly.

He stepped out of the door and strode towards the gate, his face contemplative. Something about her was off, and he couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was something missing. She had appeared slightly different than all the other Hyuuga clan members he had come across today. He couldn't quite grasp what it was.

He reached the gate, which was once again manned, though by an adult this time, not a sulky child (and, although he did not know it, this was the very same Ginta who had played truant earlier). He turned to wait as the Hyuuga Branch-House member eyes him suspiciously, and then absent followed the latter's hand as it reached up to wipe a bit of sweat off his forehead-protector-covered forehead…

His eyes widened as they came to rest on the Konoha symbol tied around the other man's forehead. The protector… of course. Everyone he had come across today had something covering their forehead, in order to hide the cursed seal, the infamous 'Caged Bird'. All the Branch House members had it; only the Main House was exempt. He vaguely remembered the the Main House only consisted of a bunch of elders all well past their retirement age, the widowed head of the house, and his two… daughters…

The only people whom he had seen with unmarked foreheads today had been Hiashi, the young girl who had been at the gate when he had first entered (her name was Hanabi, he remembered, the name of Hiashi's younger daughter), and of course, the girl in the navy yukata…

He lunged for the other man's arm, ignoring his sharp exclamation of surprise. "That girl," he said hurriedly, hardly able to get the words out of his mouth. "The one who came up to the door with me. Did you notice her? Do you know who she is?"

The other man nodded, looking extremely unnerved by his odd behavior, and a little insulted, too. "Sure, I do." He glared suspiciously at the Uchiha heir standing in front of him.

"What –" Itachi swallowed. "What was her name?"

The two seconds that he had to wait for a reply seemed like an eternity.

"Why, that's Hinata-sama, of course. Hiashi-sama's daughter."

He stared back at the building from which he had just emerged, dumbstruck.

* * *

><p><strong>It's over, folks!<strong>

**Maybe I'll see you again, someday.**

**Till then, farewell!**


End file.
